MACHIAS – Two brothers, Arick and Rein Grootveld, are growing up without a dad.

Nothing can fill the emotional hole of being left without their father, who died four years ago of a heart attack.

But for the last year, Arick, who is 9, has seen the fun his 11-year old brother, Rein, has had with Nate Reinhard, a volunteer from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Snohomish County. They’ve spent time together fishing, tubing, watching football and carving Halloween pumpkins.

“We’re really good buddies,” said Reinhard, 29, the chief financial officer at Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies in Arlington.

Arick’s mom, Mary Schatz-Grootveld, said Arick’s eyes have grown sadder and sadder each time Rein leaves with his Big Brother while he gets left behind.

“The longer it is, the worse it feels,” Arick said. “It makes me feel like I was just abandoned. It doesn’t have a good feeling.”

Her youngest son has spent the past year on a waiting list, one of almost 120 children between the ages of about 6 and 14 in Snohomish County who need an adult volunteer. Schatz-Grootveld said she hopes that someone will step up soon to be a Big Brother for Arick, too.

“I think people don’t know how great this need is,” Schatz-Grootveld said. “Young children, boys in particular, need someone who makes them feel that they are special.”

Both men and women are needed, but the need is especially great for male volunteers, said Ann Anderst, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Snohomish County. Sixty-eight percent of the children on the waiting list are boys.

“It’s hard to find males as mentors for young boys, not only locally, but nationally,” Anderest said.

Generally, volunteers must be at least 21 years old, although high school students can volunteer for a lunch buddy program. Opportunities are available for couples to work together as volunteers, too.

“The expectations are to be a friend and be a mentor,” Anderst said.

The time requirements depend on which program volunteers choose. Some are based in schools.

For those who take children on weekend outings, such as trips to parks or ballgames, the commitment is generally twice a month for a minimum of two hours each visit.

Potential volunteers are interviewed by the organization, undergo background checks and get training before they’re matched with a child.

The organization hopes to enlist about 300 more volunteers by year’s end. That would bring the total number of adult volunteers to 700.

Additional after-school programs will be launched in the fall in the Mukilteo, Everett, Edmonds and Marysville school districts.

Schatz-Grootveld said she wants people to know that there are many local children, like her own son, waiting for volunteers.

“We need help from the community,” she said. We can’t do it alone,” she said of raising two sons on her own. “I’m sure other moms are feeling the same way.”

Adults considering volunteering should put themselves in the position of a child growing up without a parent, Reinhard said.

“Consider yourself when you were 5 to 10 years old and if you didn’t have a big brother, a dad or that male role model in your life,” he said.

“What would you be like right now if you didn’t have that?”

Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

The waiting list

Here’s a breakdown by city of kids waiting for a Big Brother Big Sister adult mentor:

BoysGirls

Arlington 114

Bothell50

Brier10

Edmonds52

Everett2216

Granite Falls11

Lake Stevens31

Lynnwood127

Marysville123

Mill Creek, Mukilteo, Mountlake Terrace42

Snohomish21

Stanwood10

Silver Lake01

Total7938

For more information on the Snohomish County Big Brothers Big Sisters program, call 425-252-2227 or check the Web site at www.bbbs-snoco.org.