Congratulations to Mary Heysek, one of our 2017 Wonder Women.
Mary Heysek has dedicated her life to bettering the world around her.
Heysek’s involvement in Plant City has ranged from being on the board of the Plant City Family YMCA to becoming the executive director of the United Food Bank of Plant City. She worked on a child abuse council for five years and now serves the needy in her community.
“You just see the need and it’s overwhelming,” Heysek said. “At the end of the day everyone wants to make a difference in someone’s life.”
When Heysek became a single mom in 2004 she quickly realized how too few hours there were in a day. She said she had always thought she could do “it all” until she actually tried to stretch herself impossibly thin. The experience, though trying, allowed her to empathize with those struggling through similar situations and furthered her desire to help her community.
“I’ve been fortunate, even being a single mom, that if my kids go to the pantry and they open up the door there’s food there,” Heysek said. “There’s so many that are not that lucky … so I have a tender heart for single moms… There’s so much pressure from society to have the kids fit in and have the right stuff and the right clothes and to try to keep up financially. It’s really overwhelming for people and I really didn’t realize it until I had to do it.”
Heysek, who is celebrating her one-year anniversary as the executive director for the food bank, has learned during her time at UFBPC that you never truly know who’s struggling in silence. While many of her clients are the working poor, some take on less expected shapes, like a teacher who is a single mom and sometimes struggles to make ends meet.
Luckily, Heysek said the community has always stepped up when they see a need, which she said is one of the town’s most endearing qualities.
“Plant City has always rallied together when there is a need,” Heysek said. “It’s different here than in other places. I think people here think about the community more as a family here. You don’t know who’s hungry. But when I tell them what we need, they often try to help.”
Despite having to provide for four children, Heysek always dedicated her time to better the community. Of all she’s done, one of her favorite roles was when she was the PTA president at Walden Lake Elementary School. Her children were younger and she was able to watch them grow and make a difference in their lives and the lives of the kids they went to school with.
Heysek said as a single mom, you always struggle with trying to be everywhere at once, especially when you have multiple children doing different activities. She said at the end of the day there’s always guilt that you’re not able to do everything.
However, she said she makes it her goal every day to choose joy and to put a smile on someone’s face.
“I just try to be joyful every day and happy,” Heysek said. “I generally am extremely positive and I just want to make a difference. When I’m in contact with somebody I want them to leave feeling better than if they had not seen me.”
Too often, people get wrapped up in their busy lives and with their busy schedules and forget to take the time to acknowledge those around them, Heysek said.
“I don’t think we all realize how much we impact each other,” Heysek said. “If we would just take the time to care about each other, I think this world would be a better place.”
