Staten Island Deli Manager's Grade Reward Program Raises Over $500,000 for School Supplies

Wail Alselwi is encouraging kids to improve their grades.

A Staten Island deli manager who started giving neighbourhood children cash and free snacks for getting top marks three years ago has turned his small reward programme into a major community effort, raising more than $500,000 (£380,000) to provide school supplies to 3,000 students. Wail “Wally” Alselwi, who manages the express deli on Staten Island and is known locally as "Island Ock", first became widely known online after sharing videos in which he gave students cash and let them choose anything they wanted from his store in return for straight-A report cards. Reporting by ABC News and Good Morning America shows how Alselwi’s viral school reward programme grew into a major fundraising campaign. It eventually led to a large back-to-school giveaway for thousands of local children before the new school year.

Academic rewards that sparked a movement

Alselwi started the programme after noticing that many young people in the neighbourhood needed more motivation and encouragement for their schoolwork. He began giving cash from his own pocket, along with free drinks, crisps and household groceries, to children who showed him strong report cards. The programme quickly grew after a video filmed inside his shop showed 12-year-old customer Zameir Davis celebrating an excellent report card. The video went viral on TikTok. In the clip, Alselwi told the student he could take anything he wanted from the shelves. The gesture received widespread praise and encouraged many other local children to bring their grades to the deli. In an interview with ABC News broadcast on Good Morning America, host Danny New explained how Alselwi’s personal gesture soon attracted support from people around the world. Social media followers offered money to help him reach more children. Over three years, donations to Alselwi’s GoFundMe campaign continued to grow, taking the total raised beyond $500,000.

Supplying thousands of students for the new school term

With strong financial support from social media followers and people in the community, Alselwi expanded the programme from rewarding individual children at the deli to organising a large educational giveaway. Before the new school term, Alselwi arranged for fully stocked backpacks to be bought and prepared for 3,000 students across Staten Island. The bags included stationery, notebooks, pens and other essential classroom supplies. According to coverage from the Staten Island Advance (SILive.com), the fundraising campaign passed $550,000. This allowed Alselwi to expand the giveaway to include both primary and secondary school students in districts where families need the most help. During an appearance on ABC News, Alselwi spoke about how quickly the project had grown and the effect it has had on young people working hard at school. "It started with just one kid coming in with a good report card, and now seeing thousands of kids motivated to do well in school is incredible," Alselwi said during his interview with Good Morning America. "We want every child to feel supported and ready on their first day of class."

Community support and long-term expansion plans

Local parents and community leaders have praised Alselwi for creating a simple reward system that encourages children to work hard at school while also helping families with the cost of buying supplies for the new academic year. According to NBC News, local residents often gather outside the Staten Island deli at the end of each school term. Children line up along the street, carrying their report cards to show Alselwi. Alselwi has also said he plans to continue his report card reward programme at the deli throughout the school year. Money left from the online fundraising campaign will continue to support cash rewards, educational materials and food incentives for students who achieve strong grades or show clear improvement in their schoolwork in the months ahead.