Serving With Purpose
For two individuals who are well known for their abundant generosity, David and Cheryl Venarge's journey is not one of overnight success or inherited wealth. It's a story built on grit, grace, and a shared belief that when someone needs help, you give it.
David Ronald Venarge was born in 1943, the youngest, by far, of seven children. His oldest brother was already married with children when Dave came along, and his older sisters served more as surrogate mothers than siblings. His father, an immigrant from the Ottoman Empire, died of tuberculosis when Dave was just 5. His mother, Elsie, stitched together a living doing piecework for B.F. Goodrich, and Dave quickly learned the value of hard work.
At age 9, he began helping on a paper route, eventually earning his own route by the age of 12. The job was tough — customers didn't always pay, and the route was notoriously difficult — but Dave found a way. He asked for payment in advance and delivered with precision. That early lesson in customer service would shape his future in business.
In 1950, the other half of this philanthropic couple, Cheryl Louise Blair, was born across town in West Akron. Her parents divorced when she was young, and her mother raised Cheryl and her two brothers alone on a tight budget. Though food was always available, Cheryl distinctly remembers the scarcity of treats and how they could brighten the day for her and her brothers.
Both Dave and Cheryl were shaped by these early experiences — not just by what they lacked, but by what they learned: resilience, resourcefulness, and the importance of helping others.
Those who know Cheryl describe her as kind and gentle, yet also extremely determined. That determination drove her to babysit for 50 cents an hour to help pay for college.
Cheryl did indeed put herself through college, earning a teaching degree and an MBA. She worked in a variety of roles, including owning her own Sylvan Learning Center franchises, before going to work for what is now known as APV Engineered Coatings. Dave's path to entrepreneurship also led to APV Engineered Coatings, the oldest continually operating manufacturing company in Akron. After working at several coatings companies in the area, including a stint in the middle of his early career at what was then Akron Paint & Varnish, Dave saw an opportunity to buy APV in the early 1980s. The grandson of APV's founder had sold the company the same year it turned 100, and the company was floundering under its new ownership.
Dave scraped together every cent, rallied investors, and faced rejection after rejection from banks — until one banker, Kevin Thompson of PNC Bank, said yes to helping him purchase APV. That leap of faith turned into a decades-long partnership and friendship… and a thriving business.
As Dave and Cheryl were busy building their careers, they were also busy raising families. Before finding each other, they were both already devoted parents. Dave had three children — his oldest son, Jeff, who passed away in the spring of 2025; his daughter, Susan; and his youngest son, Tom. Cheryl was raising a daughter, Jennifer.
Not only did Dave and Cheryl's entrepreneurial and family-focused spirits match, but so too did their love of community and humanitarian works.
Their philanthropy is rooted in food, due in part to those early years when they both experienced scarcity. In recent years, they even created their own self-funded nonprofit, Food From Friends. This grassroots organization was inspired by the owners of a local saloon, who Cheryl discovered were distributing bags of food to children over the summer when food can be most scarce.
Cheryl brought in partners, Dave organized the production line, and together they packed bags filled with meals — and most importantly, treats, because Cheryl knows all too well the joy a cookie can bring to a child who rarely gets one.
One story in particular stands out: A young girl was given a granola bar at school, and when asked later how she liked it, she pulled it from her pocket, still unopened. "I'm saving it to share with my sister," she said. That moment, like so many others, reminds the Venarges why they do what they do.
They've also made an impact at the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. While volunteering one day, Cheryl noticed the absence of dairy products. "What good is cereal if you don't have milk to pour on it?" she thought.
When she asked why, the answer was simple: cost. So, the Venarges funded dairy for not one, but three years — to the tune of $1 million a year — ensuring thousands of families can enjoy milk and eggs with breakfast.
They also helped transform the food bank from a distribution center to a dignified shopping experience. The Venarge Family Food Pantry and Resource Center is open three days a week and serves an average of nearly 650 families each day.
Their generosity extends beyond food. Over the years, they've helped their employees buy homes, cars and water heaters. Dave also led the restoration of Mount Hope Cemetery, preserving the resting place of Revolutionary War soldiers and beautifying a neglected space across from APV Engineered Coatings, which will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2028.
And their giving isn't just generous — it's intentional and deeply personal. With the David R. and Cheryl L. Venarge Fund at Akron Community Foundation, giving through their donor-advised fund is a family affair, with their children and grandchildren weighing in on grant decisions.
Giving has become so ingrained in their family that one granddaughter, Abigail DiSalvo, even wrote a book about giving back while she was still in elementary school. In addition to helping guide her family's giving, Abby now serves on the grants committee for the foundation's Millennium Fund for Children, too. Talk about a family tradition.
Their Sunday night family dinners, their shared decision-making, their quiet acts of kindness — these are the threads that weave the Venarges' legacy. And while their story began in modest homes in Akron, it continues in boardrooms, food pantries and classrooms across the region.
In recognition of their unwavering commitment to community, compassion and service, David and Cheryl Venarge were named the 2025 recipients of the Bert A. Polsky Humanitarian Award. The award is a fitting honor for a couple whose lives have been defined not just by what they've built for themselves, but by how generously they've shared it. Their legacy is one of determination, purposeful giving, and a deep belief that everyone deserves a helping hand — and maybe even a cookie.
About the Award
The Bert A. Polsky Humanitarian Award was created in 1969 to honor the late Bert Polsky, president of the former Polsky's Department Store and founding trustee of Akron Community Foundation. Each year, the community foundation presents the Polsky Humanitarian Award to the individual or couple who best exemplifies Bert Polsky's selfless dedication to humanitarian causes in Akron. Honorees come from a variety of backgrounds, from business executives to lifelong volunteers. For more information about the award and past recipients, visit akroncf.org/Polsky.