Every year, people across Delaware County find different ways to give back to the place they call home.
The annual Evening of Generosity celebrates individuals and organizations whose service extends well beyond a single night. Awards recognize an outstanding young person or group, business, volunteer, and individuals who embody the spirit of philanthropy.
“The event is an opportunity to raise up some things that are going incredibly well in our community, but also to highlight needs that exist here,” President and CEO of the Delaware County Foundation Chris Baker said.
Building a culture of service early
For Cherie Smith, president of OhioHealth Dublin Methodist and Grady Memorial hospitals and a Delaware County Foundation board member, the Outstanding Youth Award represents an opportunity to recognize service at its earliest stages.
OhioHealth sponsored this year’s award, which recognized the Olentangy Berlin High School Service Interact Club. The students have organized food, clothing, and hygiene drives, volunteered with local nonprofits and raised money for an Alzheimer’s Walk.
Smith said the group stood out not only for what its members accomplished, but for what they demonstrated together.
“I love this award because it’s about the power of young people coming together toward a common goal,” Smith said. “It just really exemplifies teamwork, dedication, and ongoing commitment.”
Supporting the award also fits into a broader philosophy about OhioHealth’s role in the community. That involvement goes beyond financial contributions, extending to donating equipment and supplies, serving on local boards, and giving volunteer hours.
Her hope is that young people exposed to that same culture of service will carry it forward.
“You get exposed to it and then you get hooked,” Smith said. “You really want to be a part of the community and be that positive drive to do whatever you can to make things better.”
A partnership that grew into more
For Del-Co Water, supporting the Evening of Generosity is just one piece of a much larger relationship with the Delaware County Foundation.
CEO of Del-Co Water Glenn Marzluf said the foundation has helped the company better understand where community needs exist and how the organization can make a meaningful difference.
When he joined Del-Co Water in 2012, the organization was able to give about $2,000 annually to United Way. Today, he said, Del-Co Water typically distributes six figures in grants, growth he credits in part to the nonprofits and needs the foundation has helped introduce to the organization.
That exposure has led to relationships that surpass a monetary value. After connecting with Flying Horse Farms through the foundation, Del-Co Water began sending staff to the camp for an annual service day, bringing employees and specialized equipment to tackle maintenance and construction projects.
That same spirit carries into the Evening of Generosity. In addition to Del-Co Water’s corporate support, Marzluf and his wife, Anne, personally sponsored the Outstanding Volunteer Award recognizing Joe Pemberton, whom they also helped nominate.
“He’s just so passionate about everything he gets into and just a champion of every cause that he participates in,” Marzluf said of Pemberton.
Leaving inspired
For the sponsors, the Evening of Generosity offered a chance to step away from the day-to-day work of serving the community and celebrate it together.
Smith enjoys seeing the community dress up and gather to recognize what its members have accomplished. Marzluf looks forward to reconnecting with nonprofits and learning more about the work happening throughout Delaware County.
For Baker, the best part has always been the feeling that builds in the room as those stories unfold.
“There’s this amazing emotional crescendo that happens,” Baker said. “The night builds, and frankly, I think for most folks that are kind of stepping out of the room, they’re standing a little taller and a little more focused the next day because they were able to leave with a little bit of inspiration.”
That inspiration is ultimately the point: celebrating generosity not simply for what has already been done, but for what it might encourage someone else to do next.
To learn more about the Delaware County Foundation and the 2026 Evening of Generosity, visit their website.
