Zoe Winkler Says a Student’s Mom Set Her Up with Husband Rob Reinis (Exclusive)

Zoe Winkler Reinis’ lifelong dream of becoming a teacher also led her to meet her husband, Rob Reinis.

The 44-year-old cofounder of This Is About Humanity tells PEOPLE she knew since she was a little girl that teaching was her calling.

“In my bathroom, I have a framed picture that I made in kindergarten that says, ‘My name is Zoe. I’m pretty and cute. I will start as a babysitter. Then I will be a teacher. Then I will be a mom. I will have long nails and cats,'” Zoe shares, jokingly adding, “I have everything except for the cats.”

The photo serves as a reminder that working with kids was always her passion. When she became a teacher, she found that she “absolutely loved it.”

One day, a student’s mom mentioned setting the then-single teacher up with a man she knew.

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“A mom in my class came in one day and was like, ‘I really want you to meet my best friend’s ex-boyfriend. I want to set you up.’ And I was like, ‘That sounds so deranged, and absolutely not,’ ” she laughs.

“Then, a couple weeks later, she kept saying it to me. Her name is Alana and her daughter, Eden, was my student. A few more weeks later, the best friend came in and she was like, ‘It’s not weird. We dated at camp. I’m married now. I think you’d be great.’ ”

With the blessing, Zoe decided to take a chance on the date. “And that’s how I met my husband,” she shares.

Zoe and Rob tied the knot in 2009 and now share three kids — sons Ace, Jules and Gus. Her family, including parents Henry Winkler and Stacey Weitzman, is all involved in supporting Zoe’s work in This Is About Humanity.

The foundation recently had its annual This Is About Humanity Soiree, hosted at the Winklers’ home. Events like these allow Zoe and her cofounders, Elsa Marie Collins and Yolanda Selene Walther-Meade, to reflect on what they’ve built.

“We really try to highlight organizations on the ground that are doing really important work. I think part of what is so incredible about This is about Humanity is that it is completely transparent. There’s no overhead. My dad always jokes, ‘We don’t even pay for paper clips.’ There’s nothing. All the money goes to the orgs that are doing the work,” she shares.

At the heart of it all are three women who operate with intention as they figure out how to make the biggest impact.

“We really are very clear on where every single cent and all of our time is going. We have incredible volunteers. It’s really just these three moms that came together and were like, ‘What are we going to do? How do we do it? And how do we do it so that it’s really simple and easy for people to help?'” she shares. “And it doesn’t always have to be money. It could be their time, it could be a talent that they have. We wanted everyone to feel like they could make a difference and have that experience.”

The community came out ahead of the event to make it all possible. Not only was the whole Winkler family on deck, but Zoe’s kids’ friends also lent their time.

“I had a bunch of kids from my son’s school, his girls’ varsity volleyball team, help me stuff all the gift bags. My 13-year-old wants to be a chef, so it was his most special night. In years past, they’ve all helped the chefs cook. My 8-year-old is also very helpful, as is my 10-year-old,” the proud mom shares.

“These boys give their heart and soul. Every year, for the holidays, we do this amazing event where we have volunteers adopt a family and fill their wish list,” she says. “For my son’s bar mitzvah, his project was to collect money to do a huge toy table. So, in December, he did a toy table and raised over $25,000!”

She continues, “We had toys and toys and toys for days. All three of my kids got to hand out the toys and take the kids shopping through the area and decide what they want. I’m so grateful that they get to be a part of it, as do Elsa’s kids, Yolanda’s kids, my friends’ kids. It’s a place that’s just so focused on community.”

Zoe is grateful that her entire family is “such a big part of This Is About Humanity.”

“I believe being a mom is the reason that This Is About Humanity even began. Because I think it’s the great equalizer. It doesn’t matter. The only thing that separates us is where we were born, but we’re moms. That kind of instinct and that feeling override everything else in my life.”