Since 2023, Staten Island bodega owner Wail Alselwi — also known as “Wally” or “Island Ock” to the neighborhood he serves — has been cheering on local students through a program of his own making: “Grades for Grabs.”
It began when Alselwi struck a friendly bet with 12‑year‑old Zamier Davies: If he boosted his grades, he would earn a free Oreo milkshake.
Davies’s average climbed from the high 80s to the honor roll, and Alselwi held up his end of the bargain, documenting it in a TikTok that raked in millions of views.
In more of Alselwi’s TikTok videos, kids come in from all over to claim their rewards. One kid, a fourth grader named Maleek, traveled down from Pennsylvania with his report card reflecting a 97% grade average in hand. It earned him $100 and his pick of goodies from the bodega.
Quickly, Alselwi noticed that Maleek was only grabbing groceries for his family, like bread, eggs, and rice.
“Keep grabbing, keep grabbing,” Alselwi told Maleek. “Listen, you deserve this. You did good in school, okay?
“Thank you, Island Ock,” Maleek said shyly, returning with an armful of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
Alselwi told TODAY that he misses his own children back in Yemen and takes pride in helping his youngest customers shine.
"My biggest dream in my life is to bring my children, my own children, here to America," he told the Instagram account @nycdreamproject.
To sustain the effort, he set up a GoFundMe, which has raised $377,378 towards a $400K goal.
“Let’s say I’m giving them $100 or if I’m giving them snacks for free or a T-shirt, to me, that does not matter,” he said. “The most important thing is you celebrate them and you show them that you really care about their hard work.”
A version of this article originally appeared in the 2025 Education Edition of the Goodnewspaper.
Header image via @islandock1 / TikTok and @nycdreamproject / Instagram
