Jessica Foster
Staff WriterBetty Hestekin is this yearís Youth Service Bureauís On Behalf of Youth Award adult winner.
Hestekin, community health outreach services manager for Fairview Regional Health Care, a job which she said has helped her help the youth of this area.
ìKids and schools are a great place to work,î Hestekin said.
Hestekin has used a variety of tools to improve lives of young people. From working directly with the youth she serves to improving their academic and social climate in schools and in the community, she is considered a local precious gem.
She was nominated by Katie Langer, who proudly says Hestekin is her boss.
ìSheís always doing everything for everyone else,î Langer said. ìItís just nice to be able to give her some recognition.î
Langer said Hestekin is an unusual woman, in a quite positive way.
ìI would describe her as one of the kindest people Iíve ever met,î she said. ìSheíll bend over backwards for anyone. She is one of a kind, thatís for sure.î
The Wyoming woman is a founding member of the Tri County Youth and Family Partnership, and developed the Introduction to Health Care Course offered at Forest Lake, North Branch and Chisago Lakes High Schools.
Her customary creative touch at solving problems, the course was a response to a lack of health care workers.
ìIt gives them (students) an opportunity to look at a lot of careers,î Hestekin said. ìAnd it gives them skills, it helps the community if more kids are interested in health care.î
For the past 15 years, the Tri County Youth and Family Partnership has united health care, social services, educators, parents, businesses, youth and the community at large in the effort of promoting healthy lifestyles in the community.
Dreams with Wings Conference for Girls and their Mothers, one of the communityís favorite YSB programs, also has the Hestekin stamp.
Hestekin has been involved in planning and developing the conference and making room for the conference at Fairview Regional Medical Center in Wyoming.
But to local youth, perhaps Hestekin is best known for her work with the Friends Make a Difference Mentoring Program.
The mentor program bonds elementary and secondary students with community members who genuinely care.
Over sandwiches and board games, the youth gain respect and feel valued as they talk to an adult who cares.
The program, created in 1988, has grown by leaps and bounds. Hestekin has brought it into three school districts and has provided the materials to other schools who want to create a similar environment for their kids.
Hestekin is slow to take credit for the mentor programís success. She works with other people and together positive changes occur, she said.
ìI could sit for long hours and tell wonderful stories, mentoring stories,î Hestekin said. ìItís so visible and these kids are marvelous.î
The program began at Wyoming Elementary school and has grown to serve 13 schools locally. And more are working to begin programs.
When it is snowy or when it is cold, Hestekin said she still looks forward to begin each day and work on behalf of the people she serves.
And the Fairview system has provided a venue for Hestekin to do the work she felt needed to be done, she said.
ìI just have a wonderful job. I like doing what I do. Every day is a good day and I look forward to it,î she said.
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