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Mike Zeman was born in 1949, and grew up in suburban Chicago. His father worked as a mechanic and his mother was a homemaker in a primarily blue-collar neighborhood. Mike’s wife, Cher, was born in 1955 and her father worked as a building inspector for the federal government. Her mother was a school guidance counselor. Although her family was not particularly wealthy, their home was situated in a small, affluent area.
Mike attended high school at Argo Community High School, Summit, IL, and went to junior college for two years at the College of DuPage. Cher attended Barrington High School, Barrington, IL, and pursued her associate’s degree at the College of DuPage as well. Before starting their family, Mike began his career at UPS and Cher worked in human resources.
Their first child, Josh, was born in 1980, and their daughter, Melissa, followed closely behind him, making her grand entrance in 1981. Having worked in human resources for five years, Cher decided to redirect her focus to her new career: motherhood. She took up homemaking and raising her children while Mike continued working for UPS. He retired from UPS in 2005 after 35 years.
The Zeman family moved to Naperville, IL, in 1992, and have resided there since then. They both enjoy remodeling, and spend some of their free time doing those kinds of projects. They also enjoy decorating, traveling and devoting quality time to their granddaughter, Alie. Additionally, Mike has a passion for woodworking, which fills the rest of his spare time when he is not occupied with other hobbies or obligations.
Cher’s side of the family, from which several acts of kindness or unexpected gifts have been given, has sparked charitable interests in her and Mike. For example, Cher’s mother’s cousin from California once paid for their admission to Disneyland, and her aunt paid for her to go to camp a couple of times. Cher describes her aunt as a very generous person with a desire to provide for other people’s extra needs.
The kindness Mike and Cher have been shown has inspired them to pursue their own acts of charity. Their primary charitable interest is in granting scholarships. They are also involved with Habitat For Humanity and local children’s charities. Along with giving financial support to such organizations and causes, Mike and Cher also volunteer. Mike enjoys working with Habitat For Humanity, while Cher enjoys any volunteer activity that involves working with children.
The Zemans chose the Community Foundation to carry out their charitable interests at the recommendation of their financial advisor. Through the Foundation, they have set up two scholarships. One is called UPStart, and it was created because most of their family’s income throughout the years came from UPS. The UPStart scholarship is given to two outstanding citizens from Mike’s high school who excel at their ABC’s: Attitude, Behavior and Cooperation. Applicants must complete a five-page questionnaire, and a male and female receive the scholarship each year. The second scholarship is the Genevieve Russell Scholarship. Genevieve was Cher’s aunt, and the last one of their family tree to reside in New Era, MI. In light of this, they created a scholarship through her women’s church group in order to leave a remembrance of the family in the community.
The Zemans greatly enjoy meeting and bonding with the recipients of their scholarships. It gives them great joy to see those who receive the scholarships go on to pursue Masters degrees, spend semesters abroad and grow as individuals. Cher and Mike get a sense of gratification from giving because they agree it is the right thing to do, and believe everyone should be doing it. “We’ve been blessed and have a good life,” says Cher. “It is our joy to then give to those who don’t have the same support systems that we had.” |
