Tommy War's volunteering turned out to be a perfect fit
Tommy Warg, center, stands with some of the members of the Purple Cat men’s bowling league recently at Camelot Lanes in Boardman. Photo by William D. Lewis | The Vindicator
By JoAnn Jones
CANFIELD
When Tommy Warg was 15 years old and a freshman at Canfield High School, he started volunteering at the Purple Cat in Coitsville and downtown Youngstown so that he could get the 20 hours needed to be eligible for the National Honor Society.
Two years later, however, those 20 hours have turned into almost 300, and his purpose for volunteering has changed.
“I was really nervous to go there,” Warg said, “but it all just clicked. Going there used to be for N.H.S., but all of a sudden, it just fit.”
The Purple Cat, a nonprofit agency whose parent company is the Iron and String Life Enhancement (ISLE), provides daytime activities for adults with disabilities. The mission of the agency, according to its website, is “to sustain the well-being of our clients by promoting fulfillment in a pleasing and caring environment.” ISLE also pledges “comprehensive care of persons with disabilities.”
Warg was familiar with the Purple Cat because his sister, Alexis, spends time at the facility on Champion Street downtown.
“My sister is 30 and disabled,” he said. “She loves it there and is happy all the time. She looks at magazines, listens to music. Others do art, exercise or play board games. We just kind of hang out. Every single day they have events to go to.”
“Because my sister is physically challenged,” he added, “I’m used to being around disabled people, so I’m comfortable there and can handle any situation. I’ve always kind of been a leader and am usually in control of situations.”
Warg said he helps out doing just about anything he’s asked to do, such as serving food, taking out the trash or taking tickets for events.
He also helps out at holiday parties and other events.
“I do the prom in May,” he said. “Prom is the dance for my sister. But I’ll also do any type of fund-raising for them, too.”
“In a usual week, I’m there about four hours, but for special activities, I spend four to six hours more,” Warg said. “I’ve done a lot more hours than are required. I feel my time is really volunteering.”
One of his favorite activities is the weekly men’s bowling league at Camelot Lanes in Boardman on Wednesday evenings from the end of November to mid-March.
“There are about 10 to 15 guys,” Warg said. “I don’t show them how to do anything or help them unless they ask me to. I basically sit there and talk sports, news or weather, and just be a friend.”
“They make a big deal about strikes with clapping and fist bumps,” Warg said, “but it’s more about having fun.”
What he likes most of all is just spending time with the clients of Purple Cat.
“They don’t have many people who just come and talk to them,” he said. “Each person there has something special, an interest unique to them that they’ll come up and talk to me about. Most of the guys really like professional wrestling, and I used to watch it when I was little. I try and keep up on it now so I can talk with them about it. It’s one thing that we can connect on.”
He recalled a time when one of the men really made an impression on him.
“He lives on his own but spends time at the Purple Cat,” Warg said, “and he collected action figures, which I also used to do. He saw me at a store, and he thought it was great because we talked about his collection. His smile was huge. … He never gets to talk to anyone, and we liked the same thing and talked about it.”
One thing he said he likes about volunteering is that none of the clients there are judgmental.
“They won’t judge what you wear, what you look like or what you say,” Warg said. “They’re just happy, honest people. When I have a bad day, I go there. You never come out feeling bad. That’s what I like … coming out of there feeling really good.”
Warg credits his parents, Terri and Robert Warg, as role models who taught him to respect everyone and try to make people happy.
“I am who I am because of my parents,” he said, “but I think I’ve really found who I am now. I wasn’t very sociable in middle school, but I came out of my shell. Volunteering made me want to wake up and do what I do every single day and be proud of who I am.”
In a few weeks, Warg will take an elective high school class called Helping Hands, in which he will help students with disabilities at the elementary, middle school and high school levels.
“I’ve known some of the kids already,” he said. “I also wrote a paper in biology where I researched my sister’s syndrome. It’s the underlying reason why I want to do medical research some day.”
Warg, who takes Advanced Placement courses and maintains a 3.8 grade-point average at Canfield, said he has always enjoyed learning and wants to go to college to study science or medicine. However, he said he does have “a kind of a dream in my back pocket.”
“I also really like politics,” said Warg, who is a member of the high school’s Model United Nations organization. “I want to help people.”
As a teenager, he already has helped many people by volunteering at the Purple Cat sites. The hours he’s spent talking and “hanging out” have been priceless for him and all the friends he’s made.
And Warg’s personal goals? He was notified last week that he was selected for the National Honor Society. Those initial 20 hours that stretched into almost 300 over two years, however, have been more rewarding than anything.