Retired thanks to TikTok 88-year-old supermarket employee receives 1.7 million dollars in donations
The fate of the senior citizen moved the followers of an Australian TikToker. Their generosity has finally enabled him to retire.
06.12.2025, 21:28
07.12.2025, 14:29
dpa
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- A viral fundraising campaign on TikTok raised over 1.7 million dollars for an 88-year-old US supermarket cashier who continued to work for financial reasons despite his advanced age.
- The campaign was triggered by Australian influencer Sam Weidenhofer, who published Bambas' story and persuaded thousands of people to donate.
- Bambas is now planning to pay off debts, travel and play golf.
Thanks to a viral fundraising campaign, 88-year-old Ed Bambas can quit his job at a US supermarket for good. Bambas accepted a cheque for 1.7 million dollars on Friday and was touched by the generosity of the people who became aware of his fate via the Tiktok platform. Now he wants to travel and relax.
The campaign was initiated by Australian Sam Weidenhofer. The 22-year-old has a wide reach on social media and used his platform to do good during a visit to the USA.
He met Bambas there around two weeks ago in a Meijer supermarket in Brighton, Michigan, and recorded a Tiktok video for his 7.7 million followers. In it, the former General Motors employee explained why he is still working at the age of almost 90. The money simply wasn't enough since his wife Joan died of a chronic illness in 2018.
Weidenhofer did not want to accept this. He launched a fundraising campaign on the GoFundMe website and called for support for Bambas. "His story is a chilling reminder that far too many of our seniors, especially veterans, have to overcome incredible challenges to even survive," Weidenhofer said.
Donations of up to 10,000 dollars
The response was overwhelming: more than 15,000 people donated between 10 and 10,000 dollars. Bambas was stunned by the amount. "No, no," he said, wiping his tears in front of the reporters. "Thank you. Oh my God." Now he has to find every single one of the donors and thank them, he joked.
At 82, the senior citizen started working at Meijer, a large supermarket that sells clothes and other goods as well as food. "I talk to everyone who stands at my checkout because it has helped me not to sink into grief over her loss," he said, referring to his late wife.
The tip-off to Weidenhofer came from a former regular customer of the store, 26-year-old Lexi Wallace. She wrote to Tiktoker and asked him to get in touch with Bambas.
Weidenhofer said Bambas could use the windfall to pay off debts amounting to 225,000 dollars. How he spent the rest was entirely up to him.
Bambas now wants to visit his brother and play golf again. He does not want to give up his job as a cashier just yet. "I'll probably work for another month or two and then call it a day," he said.
