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Staten Island deli manager rewards students for good grades as fundraiser tops $600,000
Oct 01, 2026
📍 Phliadelphia,PA, USA
### Yemeni Immigrant’s Staten Island Deli Turns Good Grades Into Cash and Community Support
A Yemeni immigrant and Staten Island deli manager is gaining national attention for an unusual approach to encouraging students to improve their academic performance: rewarding good grades and progress with cash, food and other items from his store.
Wail Alselwi, manager of Zack’s Finest Deli & Grocery, has become known online as “Island Ock” through his education-focused initiative, “Grades for Grabs.”
Alselwi launched the program in 2023 after making an informal arrangement with a local student. What began as a simple incentive has since developed into a broader community effort, with students bringing their report cards to the deli and videos of the interactions attracting millions of views on social media.
The program allows students to receive different rewards depending on their grades or academic improvement. According to reports, students who move from failing grades to passing marks can receive $100, while other students can select free items from the store.
Students with strong academic records have also been given the opportunity to choose products they need or want from the deli, turning the initiative into more than simply a cash-for-grades program.
Alselwi has emphasized that academic improvement is just as important as achieving top grades. Students who make significant progress are also recognized, including those who improve from failing marks to passing grades.
“I see the progress the kids make. … It pushes them toward greatness,” Alselwi previously told The Washington Post, according to USA Today.
The initiative has since expanded beyond report-card rewards. In August, Alselwi appealed to his more than one million TikTok followers for assistance in providing school supplies to more than 3,000 students.
The response grew quickly, with donations of school supplies arriving at the deli. Alselwi has also distributed some of those supplies to teachers in the local community.
His related GoFundMe campaign, titled “Inspire Academic Excellence with Islandock,” has raised more than $615,000 from more than 13,000 donations, according to the current fundraising page. The campaign has set a goal of $650,000.
The effort has generated significant attention across social media, where users have shared videos of students visiting the deli to collect their rewards.
Some of the reactions have focused on students using their rewards for basic necessities rather than simply choosing snacks or treats.
In one widely shared interaction, a student reportedly selected food such as milk and bread for the family. Alselwi encouraged the child to choose something for themselves as well, highlighting the broader needs some students and their families face.
Other social-media users have praised the initiative as an example of a local business supporting education, while others have focused on its potential to motivate students to work toward better academic results.
The program's reach has also extended beyond Staten Island, with students reportedly traveling from outside New York to participate.
For Alselwi, the initiative has a personal connection. He immigrated to the United States from Yemen, while his three daughters continue to live there. He has said that seeing neighborhood children reminds him of his own daughters.
That personal connection has helped shape his approach to the students who visit his store. Rather than focusing exclusively on perfect grades, the program recognizes effort, improvement and the challenges individual students may face.
What started with a single student has therefore evolved into a community-backed education initiative, supported by customers, social-media followers and donors.
Through cash rewards, food, school supplies and encouragement, Alselwi's deli has become an unexpected meeting point between education and community support, while his social-media presence has brought the Staten Island effort to a much wider audience.
A Yemeni immigrant and Staten Island deli manager is gaining national attention for an unusual approach to encouraging students to improve their academic performance: rewarding good grades and progress with cash, food and other items from his store.
Wail Alselwi, manager of Zack’s Finest Deli & Grocery, has become known online as “Island Ock” through his education-focused initiative, “Grades for Grabs.”
Alselwi launched the program in 2023 after making an informal arrangement with a local student. What began as a simple incentive has since developed into a broader community effort, with students bringing their report cards to the deli and videos of the interactions attracting millions of views on social media.
The program allows students to receive different rewards depending on their grades or academic improvement. According to reports, students who move from failing grades to passing marks can receive $100, while other students can select free items from the store.
Students with strong academic records have also been given the opportunity to choose products they need or want from the deli, turning the initiative into more than simply a cash-for-grades program.
Alselwi has emphasized that academic improvement is just as important as achieving top grades. Students who make significant progress are also recognized, including those who improve from failing marks to passing grades.
“I see the progress the kids make. … It pushes them toward greatness,” Alselwi previously told The Washington Post, according to USA Today.
The initiative has since expanded beyond report-card rewards. In August, Alselwi appealed to his more than one million TikTok followers for assistance in providing school supplies to more than 3,000 students.
The response grew quickly, with donations of school supplies arriving at the deli. Alselwi has also distributed some of those supplies to teachers in the local community.
His related GoFundMe campaign, titled “Inspire Academic Excellence with Islandock,” has raised more than $615,000 from more than 13,000 donations, according to the current fundraising page. The campaign has set a goal of $650,000.
The effort has generated significant attention across social media, where users have shared videos of students visiting the deli to collect their rewards.
Some of the reactions have focused on students using their rewards for basic necessities rather than simply choosing snacks or treats.
In one widely shared interaction, a student reportedly selected food such as milk and bread for the family. Alselwi encouraged the child to choose something for themselves as well, highlighting the broader needs some students and their families face.
Other social-media users have praised the initiative as an example of a local business supporting education, while others have focused on its potential to motivate students to work toward better academic results.
The program's reach has also extended beyond Staten Island, with students reportedly traveling from outside New York to participate.
For Alselwi, the initiative has a personal connection. He immigrated to the United States from Yemen, while his three daughters continue to live there. He has said that seeing neighborhood children reminds him of his own daughters.
That personal connection has helped shape his approach to the students who visit his store. Rather than focusing exclusively on perfect grades, the program recognizes effort, improvement and the challenges individual students may face.
What started with a single student has therefore evolved into a community-backed education initiative, supported by customers, social-media followers and donors.
Through cash rewards, food, school supplies and encouragement, Alselwi's deli has become an unexpected meeting point between education and community support, while his social-media presence has brought the Staten Island effort to a much wider audience.
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