More than $1.6 million has been raised to help a struggling Army veteran retire from his full-time job at a Michigan grocery store after thousands of strangers responded to his story online.
Australian influencer Samuel Weidenhofer told NBC News that he connected with Ed Bambas, 88, earlier this week after he "received a comment on Facebook."
"I knew nothing about him," Weidenhofer said in a Thursday phone interview with the outlet.
The content creator reportedly uses his platform to help raise awareness and money for people in need.
In a now-viral video, Weidenhofer found and approached Bambas at a Meijer grocery store in Brighton, Michigan, and asked him to share his story.
Bambas said he retired from General Motors in 1999 but lost his pension when the company went bankrupt in 2012. His wife, who was sick at the time, died seven years ago, he said.
"So, you've been struggling a bit?" Weidenhofer asked.
"Ah, a little bit," Bambas replied.
"The thing that hurt me the most was when my wife was really sick, and when they took the pension, they also took the healthcare coverage and all but $10,000 of my life insurance," Bambas continued, tearing up. "So, I sold my house, sold the property I had, we made it through."
Since his wife's death, Bambas said he's been trying to get back on his feet and had to start working again.
"I don't have enough income," he said in the video.
When Weidenhofer asked Bambas if he could share his story online to raise money so he could retire, he started to cry.
Weidenhofer set up Bambas' GoFundMe on Monday; by Thursday afternoon, 56,000 people – including Newsmax – had donated more than $1.6 million for the Army veteran.
"Ed fought for his country, he worked his whole life, and now it's our turn to fight for him," Weidenhofer said. "If you've ever been moved by someone's courage, if you believe our elders and veterans deserve dignity, please consider contributing. Even sharing this story can help us reach more people who want to make a difference."
"Let's show Ed that the same bravery and commitment he gave to his country and community does not go unnoticed," the kindness influencer added.
Bambas' son, Michael Bambas, 63, told NBC the first indication he had that his dad had gone viral was when he began receiving text messages from family and friends on Tuesday morning.
"I saw my dad, and he was telling me about some guy that came into the store, started asking him questions, and then they wanted to do this little mini-interview, and the guy gave him a $400 tip," he said. "That's all we kind of knew about it, didn't think much more of it."
The younger Bambas said he's working with Weidenhofer's team to get the money to his father.
"I try to help him when and where I can financially, but he accumulated a lot of debt due to medical bills and such," he said.
In a statement on Thursday, Meijer said that Bambas is a valuable associate who brings joy and warmth to the store as well as his customer interactions.
"We are providing Ed with no-cost financial planning assistance for life to help him make the most of these generous contributions and will continue to support him as a valued member of our team," the store said.
With the money raised from the GoFundMe campaign, Michael Bambas said his father can "start living and doing things for himself."
"I don't know how to thank everybody for what they're doing for my dad," he told NBC. "It's just amazing, words can't describe."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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