ORLANDO, Fla. — The owner of an Orlando kickboxing gym is trading punches for pizza as he works to help support medical workers fighting COVID-19 on the front lines of the pandemic.
CKO Thronton Park Gym was forced to close due to the pandemic. So without the gym to run, owner Rob Grabowski decided to find a way to dish out help to those tackling the virus head-on.
And, after all, who doesn’t love pizza?
Grabowski teamed up with Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza to deliver pies to local medical workers.
He pays $160, including tip, for seven pizzas, and the pizzeria donates seven more pies, and then Grabowski delivers them to health care workers.
“These are the new soldiers right now. They’re on the front line,” Grabowski said.
A week after his gym was closed due to COVID-19, Grabowski said he felt a need to help, similarly to how the former New Yorker felt following Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
READ: How to help seniors in Central Florida amid coronavirus pandemic
He said he was left feeling helpless then, but is happy to help now.
"Fast-forward 19 years, this is my chance for redemption,” he said.
He’s funding his project using his own money and donations from gym members.
Grabowski said he’s not sure if his gym will survive after the pandemic, but said he’s happy to be able to help those who are helping others have a better chance of surviving the virus.
“It feels really, really good,” he said. “I can’t explain it."
Click here to donate to help Grabowski continue his pizza-delivering mission.
This browser does not support the video element.