BRIGHTON, Mich. (WXYZ) — An 88-year-old veteran working as a cashier at a Michigan Meijer store has become an unlikely internet sensation after his story touched millions of people worldwide, leading to a fundraising campaign to help him retire for good.
Ed Bambas works at the Meijer in Brighton, a job he took after being retired for more than a decade to help pay his bills. His story caught the attention of social media influencers who are now helping spread awareness about his situation.
Watch Brett Kast's video report below:
"It came out of the clear blue — I really truly mean that," Bambas said about the sudden attention.
A video of Bambas working at his job has been viewed by nearly 4 million people on TikTok, though he hasn't seen it on the platform himself.
"I've never been on those programs (TikTok and Instagram). I don't own one of those fancy cellphones. In fact, I still have a flip phone just to talk to people," Bambas said.
His charm contributed to the video going viral, but his story is what truly resonated with viewers. Bambas retired from General Motors in 1999 and expected to live in comfort together with his wife Joan.
"I felt comfortable. I felt I had a stable financial footing. I owned my house," Bambas explained. "We didn't have any major worries.”
But as a former salaried employee at GM, Bambas says he lost his pension in 2012 when the company went bankrupt. Then his wife became ill and Bambas became her full-time caretaker. She died 7 years ago, but the long illness accumulated significant medical bills.
"Once my wife died, I didn't have enough income to pay for this place or all the other bills I had accumulated because of my wife's illness," Bambas said.
With debt to pay and his pension gone, Bambas knew he had no other option but returning to work, first at an Ace Hardware then as a cashier at Meijer.
“It wasn't hard for me to do it because I knew I had to do it,” Bamabs said. "I'm fortunate God gave me a good enough body to be strong enough to stand there for eight, eight and a half hours a day."
Samuel Weidenhofer, a positivity influencer on social media in Australia, heard about Bambas' story from a comment on one of his videos.
"She said hey, I just want to let you know there's a guy called Ed, I think she may have even said Bob, and he's 82 years old — that's all I knew," Weidenhofer said. "No 88-year-old in America should work because they need to, and that breaks my heart."
Weidenhofer booked a flight to Michigan and teamed up with Metro Detroit-based influencer Mike McKinstry to find Bambas.
"We walked around Meijer for about two hours and we were looking for this friendly, jolly older man and we ran into Ed at the checkout and knew it was him right away," McKinstry said.
The video has led to the creation of an online fundraiser, with donations pouring in from around the world. The goal is to help Bambas retire for good. He and his wife Joan were married for over 50 years and had two children. In retirement, he plans to spend more time with those he loves.
"I just wanted to give him a chance to retire, you know? At least have some comfort. At first, I thought maybe there would be a little bit of support, but to see how much? It's record breaking," Weidenhofer said.
For Bambas, this has all come as a surprise. He doesn't know the total amount raised so far but says throughout his life, his wife has always been by his side.
“I just try to be myself, with one exception. I think my wife sits on my shoulder and helps me do the right thing,” Bambas said. "I try very hard to go to her gravesite every day and say hi... It helps me get through my day — it really does," Bambas said.
You can view the fundraiser HERE.
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This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
