Improve your grades, and I will celebrate with you.
The child improved.
Other children saw what happened.
Then parents noticed.
Then social-media viewers noticed.
Then strangers started contributing money.
Three years later, an idea that once cost little more than a milkshake had inspired more than $600,000 in donations.
The official fundraiser now describes Grades for Grabs as a movement dedicated to rewarding students for hard work and encouraging them to believe in their own potential.
Perhaps that is the most important part of the story.
The snacks disappear quickly.
The cash eventually gets spent.
The groceries leave the shelves and are carried home.
But the experience of working toward something difficult, succeeding and having someone genuinely celebrate that success can stay with a child much longer.
For the students walking into Zack’s Finest Deli & Grocery with report cards in their hands, the grades are no longer merely numbers printed on paper.
They are something to be proud of.
Something worth showing somebody.
Something worth celebrating.
And a program that began with one Staten Island student has demonstrated just how far a small act of encouragement can travel when an entire community decides to join in.
Sources
GoFundMe — “Inspire Academic Excellence with Islandock”
Official Grades for Grabs fundraising campaign organized by Wail Alselwi. As of the latest available figure, it had raised more than $608,000 from roughly 13,100 donations toward a $650,000 goal.
TODAY / NBC New York — May 15, 2025
“Bodega owner gives kids free food for good grades: ‘I like seeing the smile on their faces.’” Reporting on the program’s origins, Zamier Davies, reward levels and Alselwi’s approach to recognizing improvement, attendance and academic performance.
Office of the Staten Island Borough President — July 16, 2024
“Celebrating Deli Owner, Student For Commitment To Education.” Official recognition of Wail Alselwi and Zamier Davis for the original academic incentive that helped inspire the broader program.
NBC Nightly News — June 16, 2025
Coverage of Grades for Grabs, Alselwi’s original self-funding of rewards and the way some students began choosing groceries for their households in addition to traditional snacks.
Fox News — September 5, 2026
“Staten Island deli owner goes viral for rewarding cash, snacks to kids with good grades.” Recent reporting on the program’s growth, academic rewards and Alselwi’s hopes of expanding the movement.
ABC-linked reporting / Yahoo Finance — September 3, 2026
Coverage of Alselwi’s emphasis on improvement rather than requiring perfect grades, including cash rewards for students making substantial academic progress.