- This hour we are tipping our hat
to the city that never sleeps.
And the small neighborhoods that make up
the biggest melting pot in the world.
If you head down to the Lucky Candy Bodega,
sounds fun to me, in the Bronx,
you'll get a taste of the Big Apple's big heart.
Ahmed Alwan, who's family owns the small market,
quizzes his customers on math, can't go there.
(laughter)
Get a problem right,
get five seconds to grab anything off the shelves for free.
Which is awesome.
As soon as Ahmed posted the pop quizzes and shopping sprees
on social media they went viral.
Check this out.
- [Ahmed] Yo bro.
- Yo, what's good bro.
- [Ahmed] Jessica!
- What?
- [Ahmed] If you get this question right
you have five seconds to pick up whatever you want.
- What?
- Five seconds?
- [Ahmed] Word, are you ready?
Seven times seven plus 10.
- 59.
- [Ahmed] Eight times seven plus three minus one.
- 58.
- [Ahmed] Five,
four,
three,
two,
too one corner,
one!
Oh, you dropped your wallet!
One!
You already took that.
- That act for free?
- [Ahmed] Yeah.
(applause)
(laughter)
- He is what we call a good neighbor.
♪ Good, good so bad ♪
♪ Good neighbor ♪
- [Kelly] Y'all please welcome Ahmed!
(applause)
So this is Matt and Bellamy, y'all met a second ago
but I wanted y'all to say hi.
So Bodega's are everywhere in NYC
and for people from like, Texas that don't have Bodega's
what is that to everybody else?
- [Ahmed] Bodega is like your local, local store
in the Bronx that has like literally everything you need
from toothpaste to like you don't have to
go all the way to a supermarket to get, you know,
your belongings.
- [Kelly] You kind of have a little of everything?
- [Ahmed] Yeah, a little of everything, you know,
you have your bread, your eggs, your snacks.
You know, everything's over there.
- [Kelly] That's awesome.
So you, you say that your Bodega is pretty much
kinda the fabric of the community right?
- Yeah, so my dad had the business
for like more than 10 years,
I've been working there for seven years.
Ever since I was a little kid, I had the same customers.
Like I know them,
I know most of them by names and everything.
They watched me grow up and all that.
- [Kelly] Wow, that's cool.
That's like a movie.
- Yeah.
- That y'all could be in.
(laughter)
So why did you decide to quiz customers?
- [Ahmed] I wanted to help and educate people
and like inspire people probably to do the same
so I just like, a little over two months ago
my brother posted a video of me.
He gave me 10 seconds to grab whatever I want.
And I really thought about it after the video,
I was like I can probably do that to my customers
and help them at the same time.
- Just curious, what was your father's reaction
when you started giving stuff away for free?
- My dad, so my dad was happy in a way
because I'm representing our religion, Islam.
You know, it's about giving back and helping people.
- [Kelly] Yes.
- And you know, he's like.
- Which everyone should be about.
- Yeah.
(applause)
Thank you.
(applause)
My dad was pretty excited that I'm helping people
'cause you know, as a little kid growing up over there
I would always see him help people.
He's like, he said that I'm representing him in a good way
and our religion.
- Yeah, is that you?
You were a little boy.
In that ole big jacket.
That's so cool.
You have such a great father.
What a great just,
- Yeah, he's a great guy.
- [Kelly] Representation of a human to aim to,
that's really cool, that's what a father should be.
- [Ahmed] He is a great guy.
- [Kelly] Yeah.
Bellamy, I heard that you went to Yale
and your dad is a tax man.
- Yes.
- [Kelly] So are you good at math?
- [Bellamy] You know, I turned 50 last week
so there was a time.
Now I feel like everything's just sort of like.
Yeah, it's still in there somewhere.
They're just some cobwebs between me and it now.
- [Kelly] Well let's see if Bellamy's still got it.
Ahmed, you wanna ask a question?
You nervous now?
- Now I am!
- [Kelly] Nervous, yeah.
I'd be nervous, I'm sweating for you.
(laughter)
- Do you wanna do it as a team?
- No.
(laughter)
You're on your own there kid.
- [Kelly] You're alone.
- I'm gonna do easy on you.
Five times five divided by five minus five.
- Zero?
- [Matt] Yes.
- Yes, that's right.
(laughter)
(applause)
(shouting)
- Something happens to me, I was like,
"Oh, 25 and then it's,"
I was doing it and then something happens and I just go
(screaming)
in my head, I don't know what happens.
But you can ask me anything about literature.
- You weren't sure if the answer was zero.
(laughter)
- And I was like, "Oh no."
- This is when it starts to go down.
- [Bellamy] Do these guys, do these guys.
- [Kelly] Oh gosh, do Matt, do Matt.
- [Bellamy] I say Joe him up, Joe him up.
- [Kelly] Do Matt.
- Hold on, first of all I played Joey on Friends.
This is gonna be bad.
(laughter)
- Well secondly I play a singer in real life, so.
(laughter)
- So if you have 10 feet of rug, by 10 feet,
how much square feet is that?
- 100.
(shouting)
- [Kelly] Okay, I knew that one was 10 time 10.
- [Ahmed] I used to do carpentry right.
- Yes, you did carpentry right?
- [Ahmed] Yeah, that's why.
- But I didn't link carpet.
(laughter)
- We have to take a quick break.
- [Bellamy] Don't go, nope, nope, nope.
- Oh my god, goes so easy.
Like I want pluses and minuses bro.
(laughter)
- It's good, it's happening.
- I am sweating, Ahmed.
- [Matt] Hold on, but just remember now.
- You like it.
- This is like second grade math and I'm gonna fail.
- [Matt] Now you have to remember now,
Kelly's the one that invited you here.
So be nice.
(laughter)
- Thank you!
I'm sweaty, it's fine, go ahead.
- [Ahmed] So six times five.
- [Kelly] Okay, 30 yeah.
- Plus 10.
- 40.
- [Ahmed] Minus five.
- 35.
(bell rings)
(applause)
Let's go back to our good friend,
Lauren Sculley from NBC for New York
who's standing by at the Bronx Bodega.
There are a whole bunch of customers already lining up
for a chance to crunch some numbers.
Lauren, you've been talking to people in the store.
Who do we have there?
- We have some of the previous winners,
but I am here with Ahmed's brother, Yusuf.
So Yusuf, what do you think about
what your brother is doing?
- I think it's great how he's helping the community
with simple math problems and like,
letting them get whatever they need.
I mean that's an inspiration and he inspires me.
Like helping the people in need and whoever is hungry,
you know, I'll give it to them 'cause of him.
- [Kelly] Oh my gosh, I love your family.
(applause)
Oh my gosh.
So you also have some past winners there as well,
can you introduce us?
- Oh I certainly do have some past winners
and they have some stories for you.
This is Tone and Jessica.
- Hey, what's up Tone and Jessica?
What did this opportunity mean to y'all?
- How you doing?
This opportunity means a great deal to me.
I feel like he has given everyone an opportunity
to have a sense of happiness and positivity.
I was able to grab a few loaves of bread,
some snacks, and some juice
that I was already intending to buy.
And when I found out that I didn't have to pay,
it was amazing, especially when I brought it home
to my mom and she noticed that I didn't have to pay,
especially not coming from the best financial situation.
It was a blessing.
- [Kelly] That's amazing.
(applause)
Jessica, how about you?
- Hi, well for me being a single mom and having two kids.
I had a ball, it was a fun experience
and if I had a chance to do it again I would.
I just wanna thank him for everything.
- [Kelly] I love you Jessica!
(laughter)
(applause)
All right, well we have a customer there
ready to take Ahmed's test, right?
- [Jessica] Yes we do.
- All right, we're gonna bring out Megan.
Megan, come out Megan, we're ready for you.
This is Megan.
- Hi Kelly!
- Megan is a special education teacher
right here in the Bronx and a mom of two.
- Yes, two.
Two crazy kids, a 13 and a two year old.
(applause)
- Oh wow.
- [Megan] And then I have a bunch of
13, 11, 12, and 13 year olds in my classroom.
- [Kelly] Oh my gosh, you got your hands full with children.
All right, well Megan are you ready for your math problem?
- I'm ready, I'm ready.
I've been practicing with my students,
math, every day, all day, let's do this.
(laughter)
- All right Ahmed, go for it.
- [Ahmed] Ready?
If you get this question right,
you have five seconds to pick up whatever you want.
Are you ready?
- I'm ready.
- Seven times eight, plus 20, minus 10.
- Seven times eight, 56, plus 20, 76, minus 10, 66!
66!
- [Kelly] I got that one too!
(applause)
- [Ahmed] Four,
three,
two,
one!
- [Kelly] Get her a basket!
Get her a basket!
(applause)
What did,
Lauren, Lauren, what did Megan grab?
(laughter)
- Megan apparently likes chips.
- Well it's not for me, it's not for me.
- We have a lot of chips here.
Who did you get it for?
- [Megan] This is for my students.
I am constantly buying snacks for my students
food is a great motivator for hungry teenagers.
I have a formal observation coming up this week
so this will come in handy.
- Oh my gosh.
(applause)
That's amazing!
Well Megan, you did pretty well in the store
but we want you to have just a little bit more time
to like maybe add some other things.
So we're gonna add 500 dollars
in Lucky Candy Store credit just for you
to get whatever you need for your kids.
(applause)
- Oh my god, thank you so much!
I'm gonna cry, but may be I shouldn't.
Oh my god, thank you so much.
This is so incredible, I hope this comes back to you
and Ahmed ten fold, 'cause this is amazing for people
who live in the Bronx, who need food, and can do math.
So this is great, oh my god thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
- [Kelly] You are so funny, Megan.
(laughter)
Thank you so much Megan and Lauren.