A TikTok influencer has just handed an 88‑year‑old Meijer employee a check for $1.77 million after a decade‑long struggle with a lost pension and mounting medical bills.
Background
Ed Bambas, who works full‑time at a Meijer store in Brighton outside Detroit, retired from General Motors in 1999. In 2012, the company’s bankruptcy cut his pension, and the Old General Motors offered lump‑sum payments to about 42,000 retirees that year, though NBC Chicago could not confirm if Bambas received one.
The Fundraising
Influencer Samuel Weidenhofer, who has 7.7 million TikTok followers, visited the store and recorded a video with Bambas. The clip was shared on social media, and a GoFundMe campaign was launched. More than 15,000 people donated between $10 and $10,000, raising $800,000 on the first day and over $1.7 million by Friday.
Key Quotes
“I thought his name was Bob. He never corrected me,” Wallace said.
“If you want, you will be able to retire, because we’ve raised you $1.77 million,” Weidenhofer said.
“Thank you. Oh, my God,” Bambas said as he wiped away tears and sniffles.
“It’s something that dreams are made of, trust me,” Bambas said.
“The thing that hurt me the most was when my wife was really sick, and when they took the pension, they also took the health care coverage and all but like $10,000 of my life insurance,” he shared.
Life After the Check
Bambas sold his house and other property to pay medical bills after his wife’s illness, and she passed away seven years ago. He has been working eight hours a day, five days a week, to make ends meet. With the new funds, he plans to keep working for another month or two before shutting down his cashier job.
Takeaways
- A TikTok influencer raised $1.77 million for a veteran grocery worker.
- The fundraiser grew from $800,000 on day one to $1.7 million in a week.
- Ed Bambas, who lost a GM pension in 2012, plans to retire soon.
The generous campaign shows how social media can turn a lifetime of hardship into a life‑changing gift.
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