Phenomenal Mentor Highlight: Big Brothers Big Sisters Recognizes Dan Warther – Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Central Ohio wants to cast the spotlight on one of their outstanding Bigs: Dan Warther! Learn more about this phenomenal Big, his relationship with his Little, Cooper, and the award he recently won right here on Newsymom!
If you’ve been tuned into the latest Newsymom news, you would’ve seen an article featuring Ohio’s Big Brother of the Year for 2023 being awarded to Dan Warther! After multiple letters were written in, Dan Warther won the honor of the title, being the second one within three years of nominations that Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Central Ohio has submitted. The last winner was Brittany Douglas in 2020.
Dan Warther is a phenomenal Big, and we were so excited to get an interview with him about him and his Little, Cooper!
About Dan Warther
Tell us a little about your background!
I run my own woodworking shop in Dover and produce hardwood gifts that I market across the United States.
I also really enjoy working on restoration projects on the grounds of the Warther Museum.
How did you get started as a Big?
I wanted to build a better community, so I became a Big Brother.
I have been involved with BBBS for about 10 years, and I have been a Big Brother for 6.5 years.
When you touch the life of a child, you touch the community. I was giving back and supporting my community, but I still had a void in my life. Becoming a Big filled the void I had.

What’s your favorite thing about being a Big?
Cooper gets to experience a lot of life that may have passed him by, My favorite part about this is: So do I!
Tell us about your current Little! What kinds of things do you do together?
Cooper is very imaginative and creative and is always ready to face any challenge.
We enjoy Ice Cream, car shows and woodworking.
Can you tell me about a time you faced a challenge as a Big?
Cooper sometimes struggles with schoolwork. (Not my favorite, either.) When we work on a project in my shop: I will have him read the instructions and get his calculator out to do the math. This can be very trying for me as it tests my patience and adds a lot of time to get the project done. So I take a lot of deep breaths and keep focused on the end results.

What’s something that you wish more people knew about Big Brothers Big Sisters?
That they can make a difference in their community by mentoring a child for as little as 4 hours a month!
Thank you so much for allowing us to interview you, Dan!
Interested in Becoming a Volunteer?
You can get involved as a Big with Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Central Ohio to help defend every child’s potential! Find out more by clicking the link to volunteer: Become a Big
Additionally, you can enroll your child in the program! To learn more about the program, visit online at https://bigs4kids.com/enroll/.
Melissa Klatt
Reporting