By CARY LEIDER VOGRIN THE GAZETTE

PHOTO: Frank Kenens and Sean Russell, 17, hung out at a local restaurant last month to watch the Green Bay Packers. Kenens has been a Big Brother to Russell for 10 years.

It's been more than a year since Aaron Sandifer's mom signed him up for the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program.

"I've been waiting," said Aaron, a sixth-grader at North Middle School in Colorado Springs. "I kind of think about it a lot when I'm not doing anything."

Aaron would like "a sportsy guy" to hang with; his mom thinks he'd benefit by having an adult male confidant in his life.

About 130 boys are on the program's waiting list in the Pikes Peak region, and youths such as Aaron can expect to wait about 2½ years for a match.

In metro Denver, so many boys are waiting - 744 at last count - that the nonprofit organization has stopped taking names and is referring callers to other youth-service programs.

Budget cuts and a lack of volunteers - specifically men - are the organization's biggest challenges.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado reports it recently slashed its staff by almost half, from more than 50 full-time positions to 27.5 positions. Staff cuts have translated into program cuts, and the organization closed its Pueblo office in March and stopped offering services in Lamar, La Junta and Sterling, said CEO Dave DeForest-Stalls.

The biggest financial hit, he said, came from a change in the tax law that has led to fewer vehicle donations, which the organization had counted on as a major part of its budget. In 2004, about a quarter of the program's $2.6 million budget - $636,000 - came from auto donations. In 2005, it projected such donations will generate 7.3 percent of the budget - $165,000.

The organization's bestknown program - its one-onone matches - is suffering most because matches are expensive to arrange and timeconsuming afterward. Each match involves interviews, background checks and supervision.

The Pikes Peak program expects a nearly $40,000 deficit in 2006 and has been operating at a loss for the past three years, said April Speake, executive director of the local office.

In addition to a long list of boys, 35 girls locally also are waiting for a Big Sister, Speake said.

Waiting lists for boys have always been a problem in the Denver area and Colorado Springs, mostly because of a lack of male volunteers. Speake said the shortest wait she's seen for boys in her seven years with the organization is 18 months.

DeForest-Stalls said he hopes to create programs to attract more men by giving them a taste of mentoring without the yearlong commitment required in the match programs. In metro Denver, men have the option of signing on as a sports buddy, a less-intensive commitment where groups of men and youths attend events together.

"It's very difficult to get men to commit to anything. It's no different with a mentoring relationship," DeForest-Stalls said.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a 100-year-old agency that has enjoyed an excellent reputation for keeping at-risk youths on the right path.

In 2003, Forbes magazine put it on its "gold-star list" of 10 charities it considered worthy of consideration, and a twoyear study done in the mid-1990s found that youth matched for a year were 46 percent less likely than their peers to use illegal drugs and 52 percent less likely to skip school.

Sean Russell, 17, said he doesn't know what kind of trouble he might be in if it weren't for his mentor, Frank Kenens. The pair have remained matched for about 10 years, and both are counting on a lifelong relationship.

"He's like a dad-slash-bestfriend," said Russell, who attends an alternative high school in Colorado Springs. "He's taken me places I would have never gone, like Green Bay."

Kenens is a die-hard Packers fan, and the two were in Wisconsin this weekend for the Packers-Steelers game - their second such trip together.

"Whenever I have a problem, I'll call him. We'll work it out, and he'll give me advice," Russell said.

Kenens said Russell was "a little pipsqueak" when they met. He's now a man.

"It's been rewarding," he said of the relationship that started when he and his wife decided they'd each mentor a youth. Kenens, now divorced, never had children and said Russell has filled that void.

"The payback is not so much what I've done for Sean, but what he's done for me," said Kenens, the assistant manager of Barton Supply. "I can be a kid again with Sean and kind of relive some memories and still give a part of me."

It's the kind of relationship Karen Crump would like to see for her son, Aaron.

A couple of weeks ago, Aaron sat on the bench for part of football practice because his mom was late in getting him there.

She's working full time, going to school to earn her bachelor's degree and raising Aaron and his older sister alone.

"It's a juggle," she said. "I seem like I'm stressed to the end."

She said her son needs an adult male role model who can offer him different perspectives. Aaron is a good kid but had run into trouble for what his mom calls "bucking authority."

In elementary school, his antics included throwing ketchup packets on the street and watching them explode as cars ran over them. He'd also act out in class and smart off, his mom said.

His behavior landed him several suspensions, although he and his mom say he's stayed out of trouble this school year.

Aaron said he'd like someone to turn to for advice and to compare notes about what they went through in middle school.

He'd like someone who enjoys sports. A skateboarder would be tops on his list.

"I've seen people who look like they're in their 40s on skateboards," he said.

While he waits, his mom has worked hard to keep him involved in several activities.

He plays cello and wants to join a climbing club. He's involved in Scouts. A family friend has filled in as a mentor, helping Aaron build a treehouse in the crabapple tree in the backyard. Most of the weeknights have been filled, but he has time for a Big Brother.

"I'm pretty free Saturday and Sundays," he said.

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS PIKES PEAK

FUNDRAISING BREAKFAST
When: Nov. 15, 7:30-8:30 a.m.
Where: Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave. Enter through the north doors.
RSVP: By Thursday at 633-2443.
Cost: Free.

PROGRAMS

Community-based mentoring:
Screened adults mentor a child, usually from a single-parent home, two to four hours a week for one year.

School-based mentoring:
Mentors meet at school weekly with a child referred by school personnel.

Falcon Club: Pairs children with Air Force Academy cadets. 633-2443 or www.bbbscolo.org/pikespeak