Big Brothers make a big difference in the lives of Littles

Published 12:58 pm Saturday, June 20, 2015

Together they have cheered for the Seahawks, gone crabbing and skeet shooting, talked about grades and goals, and pored over homework at the dining room table.

At 70, Dennis Weczoreck has his own grown sons. Adam Siefertson, 18, lost his dad about seven years ago. Nonetheless, theirs is a relationship with the best elements of a father-son bond.

“It was good to have someone I could go to instead of my mom,” said Siefertson, who graduated June 9 from Lake Stevens High School. “I wanted to talk about stuff, and he was another role model, I guess.”

From the day they met in October 2008 until their recent “match graduation,” Weczoreck was the young man’s mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Snohomish County.

Adam was 11, a preteen with a shy smile, when they were matched. In a picture taken this month, the Little Brother towers over his “Big” — a description the agency uses for its mentors. Kids are known as “Littles.” The two are no longer officially Big Brother and Little Brother, but still plan to get together.

A Boeing retiree who lives in Lake Stevens, Weczoreck remembers that first meeting with 11-year-old Adam. “Boys, sometimes they don’t talk very much,” he said.

At the Big Brothers Big Sisters office in Everett that day, they were given a coupon for a fast-food lunch. “And that’s what we did. We talked, and I tried to see what he was interested in. It grows slowly,” Weczoreck said.

“I used to do a lot of baseball coaching. Even back then, a lot of the kids only had a mother. Over time, I saw a need.”

WendiLee Johnson, program manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Snohomish County, said the program serves kids until they turn 18 or graduate from high school. The seven-year match between Weczoreck and his Little Brother was much longer than most.

“Our average match length in Snohomish County is about 40 months. And that’s much higher than the national average,” Johnson said.

The agency here is an affiliate of YMCA of Snohomish County, and all Little Brothers and Little Sisters receive free Y memberships. Their “Bigs” can join them at any local Y without cost.

In 2014, Johnson said, the organization helped 237 children in Snohomish County through its community-based matches, a school lunch buddies program, and a kids’ book club that also meets in schools.

“Some of these kids don’t know how to swim or ride a bike. Having a ‘Big’ can really make a dent in that,” Johnson said. Volunteers need no special experience, there’s no upper age limit, and “Bigs” are always needed, she said.

Siefertson’s mother, Caroline Cervarich, saw how her boy was helped. Adam’s parents divorced in 2007. In December 2008, his father died. And not long after that, his grandfather died.

“Adam dealt with depression from divorce and two deaths. He struggled in school,” Cervarich said. “Dennis would call him all the time. Even a couple times when they weren’t scheduled, he would call and say ‘You want to do something?’”

“It was a really good match. They need a man sometimes. When he struggled in school, Dennis held him more accountable,” the mother said.

Her younger son, 13-year-old Jacob Siefertson, has had several Big Brothers. None were involved for very long, an experience that shows the real need for more adults willing to commit to kids. “Jacob is currently on the waiting list. He’d like to have one who would stick with him until 18,” Cervarich said.

Adam Siefertson, who plans to attend community college at Cascadia, remembers great times with his Big Brother. “We went out on his boat and went crabbing a lot. It was always fun to pull up the pots and see what we got. We’d take them home to my house and cook them,” he said. “We’d go fish, see movies, and go skeet shooting sometimes. It was really fun.”

His mom isn’t much for watching football on TV. But Siefertson’s Big Brother took him to West Seattle to watch Seahawks games on a big screen with a group of friends.

“He likes to joke around, but he can be serious,” Siefertson said. His Big Brother’s advice was often “just keep working at it, you will ultimately arrive at that goal.”

“It’s having another friend,” the teen said. “When I’m older, like Dennis’s age, I’ll probably be a Big Brother.”

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Learn more

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Snohomish County, an affiliate of YMCA of Snohomish County, provides mentors for children from single-parent homes, foster children, children living in poverty or those who have an incarcerated parent. Volunteers, especially men, are needed for one-to-one mentoring and school-based programs for kids ages 6-18. Information: www.bbbs-snoco.org