NEW YORK — Around 5 p.m., the bodega on the corner of Heverton Avenue and Ann Street comes to life.
Laughter spills out onto the sidewalk, mixing with the jingle of passing soft-serve ice cream trucks and the cries of children playing in the neighboring garden. A group of middle school girls gathers outside, crumpled yellow report cards shoved into backpacks, young children darting among them, some parents trailing behind.
Zack’s Finest Deli, located in Staten Island’s Port Richmond neighborhood, might be the coolest spot in town. At the center of the group of boys and girls gathered is the bodega’s manager, Mr. Wail Alserwy. He is better known as “Wally” to his neighbors and “Island Ock” to the hundreds of thousands of people who follow him on TikTok and Instagram.
On this particular Tuesday afternoon, he’s calling each other nicknames and high-fiving as a group of students from nearby William A. Morris Middle School 61 show him their report cards.
“Let’s go!” Mr. Alselvi said as he patted one of his students and complimented him on his recent math test.
Over the past three years, thousands of students have walked through the deli’s doors to Al Serwy’s “Grades for Grabs” initiative, which encourages kids to earn good grades with free snacks and prizes. Kids who score less than 80% can win $10 worth of items, and kids who score 90% or higher can win a snack of their choice, a $100 bill, or a T-shirt.
“These children are our future,” Alselwy says. “We are here to help them, we have to help guide them.”
“Grades For Grabs” offers prizes to children who perform well
It all started with a bet. In 2023, Alservi made a bet with 12-year-old Zamail Davis that if he brought in a good report card, he could get whatever he wanted at the store.
Davis held up his end of the bargain. And as his scores continued to improve, Alservi shared videos of their matchups on TikTok.
“I told you I was going to get honorary status!” Davis shouts as he runs through the door of a bodega in one video, which has since received more than 1.7 million likes.
“No way! You did it! He did it! You’re the man, Zamir!” Alselvi replies. Immediately, the video cuts to Mr. Zamail’s reward. A bag of spicy sweet chili Doritos, a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, and a cookies and cream milkshake topped with Oreos and Hershey’s pieces.
“Go on, you heard me! That’s what I’m talking about,” Alservi says, and Zameer walks out.
Things snowballed from there. People came from Illinois, Oklahoma and even Canada to show Alselwi their accomplishments. In November 2025, lines of 300 to 400 children stretched outside the deli every day during marking period at many local schools.
Al-Selwi funded the program out of his own pocket for several months. His brother, Nash Alselwy, created a website to list merchandise as the program grew and started a GoFundMe. Since then, it has raised nearly $500,000 and continues to operate.
“There were so many kids coming, and he was like, ‘I don’t want to close the door,'” Alservi says of his brother. “It’s amazing to see his relationships with kids and people because you can learn from that.”
Pushing children towards progress
A revolving door of students can be seen coming and going at the deli throughout the afternoon, but Alservi seems to keep track of everyone, listing off fifth-grader London Luster’s regular orders (a turkey sandwich with bacon, egg and cheese for his sister Lauryn) and remembering that another of her children’s favorite soccer players is Cristiano Ronaldo.
Alselvi is well known in the area and is constantly accosted by passing neighbors and children on bicycles.
“Stay strong for the kids, dude!” the driver shouts from the car window as he rounds the corner. Another passerby gave him a high-five and said, “Wally, it’s you!” he calls out.
Lately, the brothers have been seeing kids heading straight to the deli after school to report their test scores, even if it’s not for a treat. For kids who play sports, the brothers created custom Island Ock jerseys.
“Every time they test, they have to go see Wally,” jokes London and Lauryn’s mother Tina Broadhurst. “You would think he was their father.”
Children’s faces light up as they run to choose their prizes.
Some people make a beeline for the chip aisle. Some buy necessities such as eggs and bread for their parents. Alselwi makes sure to stock all of her children’s favorites in the store, including Burdak’s spicy ramen and the wildly popular Propicious Mango ice cream.
For 8-year-old Theodore Letane Jr., a third-grader at nearby Lovell Preparatory Charter School, that motivation is the extra push he needs to improve his reading comprehension scores.
“It means a lot to you as a mother to have one adult who believes in your child as strongly as you do and wants to see him do better,” said his mother, Charletta Otto Gay. “It’s like a village.”
For Alselwi, it’s about giving children confidence. He immigrated from Yemen and his three daughters still live there.
“When[neighborhood children]come, I see my children among them,” Alselwy said.
He adds that Grades for Grabs is not about perfection. Students who grow from failure receive the same prizes as students who achieve the highest grades.
“It’s not, ‘Oh, I’m failing, I’m just going to fail,'” Alserwy says. “No, I’ve failed, but what should I do?”
He has seen kids go from scoring averages of 55% to 98% on tests.
“It doesn’t matter where you stand right now, it’s what you do about it,” Alserwy says.
Rachel Hale’s role covering youth mental health for USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. Contact her at rhale@usatoday.com. @rachleighhale With X.
