Wail Alselwi, a Yemeni immigrant and manager of Zack’s Finest Deli & Grocery on Staten Island, is drawing national attention for encouraging students to improve their grades by rewarding them with cash, snacks and other items from his store.
Alselwi, known online as “Island Ock,” began his “Grades for Grabs” initiative in 2023 after making a deal with a local student. The program has since grown into a community effort, with thousands of students showing up with report cards and videos of the interactions gaining millions of views on social media.
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Under the program, students can receive rewards based on their academic performance or improvement. Alselwi has said students who improve from failing grades to passing can receive $100, while other students receive free items from the deli. Students with strong grades have also been allowed to choose items they need or want from the store.
The initiative has also expanded beyond report-card rewards. In August, Alselwi asked his more than 1 million TikTok followers for help providing school supplies to more than 3,000 students. ABC News reported that donations of supplies arrived in increasing numbers, with Alselwi also giving some supplies to local teachers. His fundraising campaign, “Inspire Academic Excellence with Islandock,” has raised more than $615,000 from more than 13,000 donations, according to the current GoFundMe page. The campaign has a $650,000 goal.
The initiative has prompted a wave of reactions online. Some commenters have highlighted videos showing students choosing necessities such as milk and bread for their families rather than only snacks.
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One commenter wrote that a child used a reward to select food for the family and said Alselwi encouraged the student to also choose something enjoyable for themselves. Another social-media reaction described the fundraiser as evidence that a Staten Island deli was supporting education through its rewards program, while another commenter praised the idea of motivating students to improve their grades.
Alselwi has emphasized that the program is not only about academic perfection. USA Today reported that he also rewards students who make significant improvements, including children who move from failing grades to passing marks. “I see the progress the kids make. … It pushes them toward greatness,” Alselwi previously told The Washington Post.
For Alselwi, the effort has a personal dimension. USA Today reported that he immigrated from Yemen and that his three daughters still live there. He said he sees his own children in the neighborhood students who visit his deli.
The initiative began as a small gesture to one student but has grown into a larger, community-funded effort, with students now traveling from outside New York to participate.