Alum Family Helping APS Families

Cheryl Venarge and her family have been serving the needs of APS families since the pandemic, and every year the number of families they help increases. “If you do one little thing, it can grow and multiply,” said Mrs. Vernage. “Anything that has to do with food and helping people struggling to get the basic needs in life, I’m there.” 

Cheryl and her husband, Dave, the owner of APV Engineered Coatings (formerly Akron Paint & Varnish Co.), started a grant program through the Akron Community Foundation to teach their children a lesson in philanthropy. “We wanted the family to learn the community's needs and how important it is to give back to the community,” said Cheryl Vernage. She and her husband grew up in Akron and are graduates of Akron Public Schools. She graduated from Firestone, and he graduated from Garfield. When the family reviewed applications for grant requests, they were moved by the five APS schools that asked for financial assistance for families needing food, emergency clothing -- T-shirts, socks, underwear -- and miscellaneous items such as detergent, bus passes and personal hygiene items. The family concluded that it could not choose one school over the other and decided to fund all five school requests.

“We are now up to 14 schools and hope to grow that number yearly. The grandchildren are more involved now. I have six granddaughters, ages 12-22, two sons and two daughters.” said Chris Venarge. “The APS family liaisons are the real warriors. These women go out and find what the families need. We couldn’t accomplish anything without their help.”

Peggy Greiner, who helped write the initial grant request five years ago, agreed that the family liaisons did their homework to find what the families needed. “They wrote the grant; I just helped them craft the message to the donors,” she said. “But I do recall vividly that the Venarge family was very engaged in the process, from the parents to the grandchildren.” 

The initial grant was for $10,000; five schools received $2,000 each. Dr. Mae Walker of APS Student Services, who oversees the program now, praised the 28 staff family liaisons. She said the school grants are $1,000 and $2,500, and the funding doesn’t end. It replenishes and adds additional schools to the list. 

This year's list, pending board approval, includes:  

Schools Receiving $2,500
Case CLC
David Hill CLC
Glover CLC
Leggett CLC
Portage Path CLC
Sam Salem CLC

Schools Receiving $1,000
Barber CLC
Crouse CLC
Pfeiffer Elementary School
Resnik CLC
Rimer CLC
Schumacher CLC
Seiberling CLC
Voris CLC