However, the significance of this visibility goes beyond popularity.
When viewers watch a student being celebrated for improving academically, they are also exposed to a positive message about education.
Children watching from other neighborhoods may be encouraged to take their own studies more seriously. Parents might consider finding new ways to recognize their children's accomplishments. Other business owners may begin thinking about how they could support students in their communities.
These potential effects are difficult to measure, and online popularity alone does not prove that a project improves educational outcomes.
Still, the widespread attention has clearly helped the initiative attract supporters.
The story demonstrates how digital platforms can connect local acts of generosity with people who want to contribute, even when they live hundreds or thousands of miles away.
More Than Grades: Helping Students Prepare for School
As Grades for Grabs expanded, Alselwi began looking beyond report-card rewards.
Education requires more than motivation.
Students also need practical resources, including notebooks, pencils, backpacks, and other classroom supplies.
For families managing tight budgets, purchasing these materials can create additional pressure, particularly at the beginning of a school year.
Recognizing this need, Alselwi organized school-supply giveaways with support from his online community.
In August 2026, ABC News reported that he had appealed to his large TikTok following for assistance with a plan to provide supplies to more than 3,000 students.
Donations began arriving in boxes, sometimes in surprisingly large numbers.
During his interview, he recalled receiving only a handful of packages initially, followed by increasingly large deliveries. On one particularly busy day, he said 65 boxes arrived.
Some donated supplies were also given to local teachers.
This expansion added an important dimension to his original mission.
Rewarding students for academic achievement acknowledges what they have accomplished.
Providing school supplies helps them prepare for what comes next.
The two forms of support complement each other.
A student may feel motivated to work harder after receiving praise, but that motivation becomes more useful when the student also has the materials needed to complete assignments.
Similarly, teachers benefit when students arrive in classrooms equipped with basic supplies.
No donation can eliminate every challenge in education. But providing practical resources can remove some immediate obstacles and communicate that a child's academic success matters to people outside their household.
By expanding into school-supply assistance, Alselwi showed that his initiative was becoming more than a system of prizes.
It was developing into a broader effort to support young people throughout their educational journeys.
What Educational Research Says About Rewards
The philosophy behind Grades for Grabs raises an interesting question: do rewards actually help students perform better in school?
Educational researchers have examined this subject for years, and the findings are more complicated than a simple yes or no.
Rewards can sometimes encourage students to put more effort into their work, particularly when they make goals achievable and recognize meaningful progress.
However, rewards do not automatically produce stronger learning, and their effectiveness can depend on how they are structured.
A study published in the Economics of Education Review in 2021 examined financial and nonfinancial incentives involving more than 10,000 high school students.
The researchers found little average effect across the entire participating population, although some groups of students responded positively and showed meaningful improvements in test performance.
Their findings suggest that incentives may help certain students more than others.
A systematic review published in Educational Research Review in February 2026 similarly examined how tangible rewards relate to academic performance in gamified learning environments.
The researchers found that relatively modest rewards linked to achievement could be associated with better performance under certain conditions.
They also highlighted the potential value of recognizing learning progress and allowing students some choice in rewards, while cautioning that more research is needed.
Another important consideration is the distinction between external rewards and internal motivation.
A child might initially study harder because of the possibility of earning money or receiving free food.
But ideally, that experience would help the child develop confidence, discover satisfaction in mastering difficult material, and eventually value learning for its own sake.
Research has also warned against relying too heavily on grades as the primary measure of success.
A meta-analysis published in Educational Psychology examined the relationships between grades, written feedback, motivation, and achievement.
The researchers found that written feedback could offer important advantages over grades alone, particularly when considering students' motivation.
These findings do not establish whether Grades for Grabs itself improves academic achievement.
No independent evaluation of the program's educational outcomes was identified in the sources reviewed for this article.
Nevertheless, the research offers useful context.
The strongest interpretation of Alselwi's approach may not be that money is the secret to better grades.
Instead, its value may lie in combining achievable incentives with encouragement, personal attention, and recognition of progress.
The cash and snacks attract attention.
But the emotional experience of having an adult celebrate your effort may be just as important to the program's appeal.
The Importance of Having Someone Believe in You
Behind every report card is a child navigating experiences that numbers alone cannot fully capture.
A student receiving a score of 75 may have worked extremely hard to achieve it.