An 88-year-old Detroit man who works full-time at a convenience store has received an outpouring of support after TikToker itssozer shared his story and launched a fundraiser that has already raised more than $670,000.
Samuel Weidenhofer, known online as itssozer, posted a video on December 1 introducing viewers to Ed Bambas, an Army veteran who still works eight-hour shifts five days a week.
Bambas told him he “has to work” because he lost his General Motors pension after the company’s bankruptcy in 2012, more than a decade after he retired in 1999.
Fundraiser for veteran passes $670k in donations
Weidenhofer launched a GoFundMe campaign for Bambas shortly after the video went live, saying he wanted to help give the veteran comfort and stability after years of hardship.
In the fundraiser’s description, he wrote that Bambas “completely humbled” him and described meeting a man who shows “quiet dignity, strength, and perseverance” despite losing both his pension and his wife.
The fundraiser aims to help Bambas cover living expenses and medical care, with Weidenhofer saying “every dollar” will go directly to supporting him. As of the time of writing, the campaign has raised more than $670,000 toward its $750,000 goal from over 20,000 individual donations.
In a follow-up post on the fundraiser’s GoFundMe page, Weidenhofer wrote, “I am in shock at how much has been raised. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
