{"id":331827,"date":"2026-08-28T13:56:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/331827\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T13:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T13:56:12","slug":"he-promised-one-kid-snacks-for-good-grades-now-this-staten-island-deli-owner-has-raised-550k-for-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/331827\/","title":{"rendered":"He promised one kid snacks for good grades. Now this Staten Island deli owner has raised $550K for students."},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: Welcome to Social Media Influencer of the Week, a new weekly feature from the Advance\/SILive.com highlighting local content creators who are building communities, inspiring followers and making an impact across social media platforms. If you\u2019re a social media influencer who would like to be considered for a story, send an email to tips@siadvance.com and put \u201cinfluencer\u201d in the subject line.<\/p>\n

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 For Wail Alselwi, a report card can be worth more than a grade. Inside Zack\u2019s Finest Deli & Grocery, it can become a celebration, a reward and, he hopes, the beginning of another act of kindness.<\/p>\n

Known online as \u201cIsland Ock,\u201d<\/a> Alselwi has used his social media platform to encourage students and rally support for children and families across Staten Island.<\/p>\n

His videos often feature children walking into the Port Richmond deli with report cards in hand, eager to share their academic achievements. Alselwi celebrates their progress by rewarding them with snacks, merchandise or money, then sharing those moments with his followers online.<\/p>\n

The effort began in 2023 with a promise to student Zameir Davis, a regular customer at the deli. Alselwi told Davis that if he earned good grades, he could choose anything he wanted from the store.<\/p>\n

Davis eventually made the honor roll and returned to collect his reward, selecting some of his favorite snacks, including an Oreo milkshake and Doritos. Videos of the moment spread online, and other children soon began arriving at the deli with report cards of their own.<\/p>\n

Alselwi initially expected the program to remain within the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

When asked whether he expected so many people to participate, he said: \u201cI did not.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought that it was just going to be for the neighborhood only. And then now I\u2019m getting kids from everywhere,\u201d Alselwi said.<\/p>\n

\"Zack\u2019sBorough President Vito Fossella recognized I.S.51 student Zameir Davis and Wail Alselwi, manager of Zack\u2019s Finest Deli & Grocery, on Tuesday, July 16, presenting them with certificates for their community spirit.Priya Shahi<\/p>\n

As the videos reached a wider audience, Alselwi\u2019s followers became more than viewers. They began helping him fund the rewards.<\/p>\n

In March 2025, he launched a GoFundMe campaign <\/a>to support \u201cGrades for Grabs,\u201d his program rewarding students for their performance in school.<\/p>\n

The fundraiser has raised more than $550,000.<\/p>\n

On the campaign page, Alselwi describes \u201cGrades for Grabs\u201d as a movement dedicated to recognizing students\u2019 hard work with snacks and cash prizes for good grades.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany kids lack encouragement, and sometimes, all it takes is a small incentive to boost their confidence and push them toward greatness,\u201d Alselwi wrote.<\/p>\n

According to the fundraiser, donations help provide free snacks for students who improve their grades, cash prizes for children who reach higher academic goals and continued support for the community-driven program.<\/p>\n

Alselwi said he created the campaign because he had been covering the program\u2019s expenses out of his own pocket. The donations would allow him to reward and encourage more children, he wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community of supporters I\u2019ve connected to online is making a genuine difference in the lives of these kids,\u201d Alselwi wrote on the fundraising page.<\/p>\n

He also wrote that he had seen students improve from averages in the 60s to averages in the 80s and 90s.<\/p>\n

The fundraiser marked another stage in the program\u2019s growth. What started as one promise between Alselwi and a neighborhood student became an effort backed by online supporters who wanted to help fund future rewards.<\/p>\n

\"WailWail Alselwi stands outside Zack\u2019s Finest Deli & Grocery, where children received school supplies during a back-to-school giveaway in Port Richmond on Tuesday, Aug. 25. (Advance\/SILive.com | Amanda Faublas) Advance\/SILive.com | Amanda FaublasAdvance\/SILive.com | Amanda Faublas<\/p>\n

That same support was visible ahead of a back-to-school giveaway held outside Zack\u2019s Finest Deli on Aug. 25.<\/a><\/p>\n

Alselwi created an Amazon wish list and asked his followers to help provide school supplies for local children. Once again, the response surpassed his expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow the whole program started, everybody already knows,\u201d Alselwi said. \u201cBut the school supplies thing, I see my community, my supporters, they inspired me because they\u2019re always behind me. They always supported me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alselwi told his followers that he wanted to try to support 3,000 children, although he did not know how many people would respond.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just threw a number out there and the next day I started getting deliveries from the wish list,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m telling you, I get 15 to 65 boxes a day, so that makes me want to do it more. I want to do this every single year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deliveries brought boxes of donated supplies to the deli. During the giveaway, music echoed along Heberton Avenue as children and families gathered to receive backpacks, notebooks and other items for the new school year.<\/p>\n

Alselwi\u2019s brother, Nash Alselwi, said their work with local children was not originally part of a larger plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just happened,\u201d Nash said. \u201cThe opportunity presented itself, and then we just kept doing it, and we just try to keep on doing something better and better as time goes on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nash said the brothers have been carrying out the effort for roughly two to three years.<\/p>\n

When asked whether he expected it to grow this large, he described his feelings as mixed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way, I did,\u201d Nash said. \u201cAnd in another way, no. So it\u2019s kind of like a mix of both.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Nash, the response showed what people were willing to do when given an opportunity to help.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels good,\u201d he said. \u201cIt feels good that the community is behind us. For the community to even come in and do what they did. They gave everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Public recognition of Alselwi\u2019s work began growing in 2024 as videos of Davis and other students circulated online.<\/p>\n

In July of that year, Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella recognized Alselwi <\/a>and Davis with certificates for their community spirit.<\/p>\n

Alselwi has said the encouragement he once received from his own brother influenced his desire to support others. After a previous business in the Bronx closed, he said Nash pushed him to try again when he had given up.<\/p>\n

Alselwi has managed Zack\u2019s Finest Deli & Grocery since 2022.<\/p>\n

Now, the children, families and supporters surrounding the deli motivate him to continue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot,\u201d Alselwi said. \u201cThis community inspires me to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the snacks, money and school supplies offer immediate rewards, the brothers hope the children leave with something that lasts longer: \u201cTo be kind, to give back when they have the opportunity,\u201d Nash said. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo that\u2019s what they should get from all of this,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Alselwi hopes the students remember the kindness shown to them and eventually offer that same support to someone else.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike my brother said, kindness,\u201d he said. \u201cGive back to the community as well. I hope they remember what we\u2019re doing right now and when they grow up, they continue to do the same thing we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n