A teacher at Roosevelt Academy for students with disabilities has received a rather unusual donation of school supplies.
Rob Bagby teaches a class that prepares students for adult living, and one of the skills he's trying to impart is healthy barbecue grilling.
According to The Ledger of Lakeland, Bagby, who is a professional barbecue chef on the side, received $1,053 worth of grills, charcoal chimneys and tongs from donorschoose.org.
Bagby told the Ledger he learned that Horace Mann Insurance, a national sponsor of donorschoose, was looking to donate a total of $20,000 toward supplies for projects listed by Polk County teachers on the website. He put his project up, and days later, his supplies arrived.
"I don't know if that's something I could have gotten a grant for," Bagby told the Ledger. "Fortunately, Horace Mann has given that chance and, hopefully, we'll blow it up big."
Bagby told The Ledger he plans to teach his class how to grow vegetables in a patch of land outside of the school's teaching kitchen so they don't have to rely solely on food donations. A recent grilling lesson included yellow squash, zucchini and sweet potatoes.
With nine grills total, the students will soon began trying to grill food themselves.