{"id":333993,"date":"2025-12-09T06:22:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T06:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/333993\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T06:22:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T06:22:27","slug":"over-1-7-million-raised-for-88-year-old-army-vet-working-in-grocery-store-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/333993\/","title":{"rendered":"Over $1.7 million raised for 88-year-old army vet working in grocery store – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

An 88-year-old army veteran from Michigan, who gained internet fame after a video of him explaining that he had to work in a grocery store to make ends meet went viral, is set to receive almost $2,000,000 thanks to thousands of strangers who donated to fund his retirement.<\/p>\n

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Ed Bambas caught the attention of Australian content creator Sam Weidenhofer, known for his videos about spreading kindness, after a person familiar with the store where Bambas works nominated him in the comments of one of Weidenhofer\u2019s videos.<\/p>\n

In the\u00a0now-viral\u00a0TikTok<\/a>\u00a0posted on Monday, Weidenhofer approaches Bambas, asking him his age and why he still has to work.<\/p>\n

Bambas said he had to return to work after his wife died from an illness seven years ago, and his former employer, which he identified as General Motors, went bankrupt and stopped paying his pension.<\/p>\n

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Bambas also said he served in the military in 1966.<\/p>\n

When his pension was eliminated, his wife lost her health care coverage, Bambas explained. To pay for her care, he had to sell his house and all of his other property.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce my wife died, I didn\u2019t have enough income to pay for [my home] or all the other bills I had accumulated because of my wife\u2019s illness,\u201d Bambas told ABC Detroit station\u00a0WXYZ<\/a>, explaining that he first took a job at a hardware store before becoming a cashier at a Meijer grocery store, where he currently works five days a week, eight hours a day.\t<\/p>\n

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Bambas told Weidenhofer that if he ever retired, he hoped to \u201clive a little.\u201d<\/p>\n

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At the end of the TikTok, Weidenhofer asked for permission to share Bamba\u2019s story so people could help him out, and then directed followers to a GoFundMe<\/a> for the grocery store worker.<\/p>\n

By Wednesday, people had donated over $1,00,000 to Bambas. As of publication time, that number sits shy of $1.8 million.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn just under 36 hours, we\u2019ve shattered every expectation, raising over $1,000,000 for Ed Bambas, a remarkable 88-year-old veteran who has been working 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, just to get by,\u201d Weidenhofer wrote on Instagram<\/a> alongside a photo of him and Bambas smiling.<\/p>\n

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Weidenhofer told\u00a0WXYZ<\/a> that Bamba\u2019s story inspired him to fly from Australia to meet with him and to set up an online fundraiser.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo 88-year-old in America should have to work because they need to, and that breaks my heart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to give him a chance to retire,\u201d he added. \u201cYou know, at least have some comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n

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