Who is Samuel Weidenhofer? All about Kindness influencer raising money for viral army veteran Ed Bambas

Samuel Weidenhofer’s GoFundMe campaign for army veteran Ed Bambas recently went viral. The community has raised over a million to help Bambas finally retire at 88. 

Samuel Weidenhofer is a mental health activist and content creator from Melbourne, Australia. He has often been described as a kindness influencer, due to his content about helping those who have been struggling for various reasons. His Instagram handle (@itssozer) has more than 2.3 million followers, while his TikTok handle has over 7.6M followers. 

Samuel Weidenhofer, who became a content creator in 2021, recounted during a chat with the BBC: 

“It started with simple things like giving people hugs in public and giving out roses and flowers and things that would make people smile.” 

Weidenhofer, who has had traumatic experiences in his past, remarked: 

“I hope my videos inspire someone just a little bit.” 

Weidenhofer’s videos often capture the heartbreaking stories of random individuals, while also encouraging his followers to support those in need. One of his recent clips captured the story of army veteran Ed Bambas, who has been facing financial troubles for over a decade. The content creator filmed the 88-year-old and set up a GoFundMe page for them. 

The fundraiser reached its goal within a couple of days, garnering mainstream media attention. 

Samuel Weidenhofer’s GoFundMe page raises over $1.5M to help Ed Bambas retire

The kindness influencer launched a fundraiser to help the 88-year-old army veteran amid his financial struggles. Weidenhofer shared Bambas' story on the GoFundMe page and wrote: 

“Ed is 88 years old, an Army veteran, and he still works five days a week, eight hours a day. He has never received the pension he earned after a lifetime of hard work, and he lost his wife years ago.” 

After the fundraiser raised over $1.5 million within four days, Samuel Weidenhofer acknowledged the overwhelming support from the community and wrote: 

“I am in shock how much has been raised. From the bottom of my heart thank you.”

He added in another update: 

“Hey everyone, I just wanted to say the biggest thank you towards ED ever the support so far is absolutely immense, and I have thousands of GoFundMe messages, all of which I can’t respond to. There’s thousands!”

Samuel Weidenhofer confirmed that they will surprise Ed Bambas in the next four or five days and officially make him a beneficiary of the fundraiser. The content creator stated that his team is working to establish a bank account or trust for the 88-year-old. 

Weidenhofer has filmed his meeting with Bambas at the latter’s workplace. The clip garnered 7.6 million views on TikTok and 12.4 million views on Instagram. The video starts with Weidenhofer asking Ed Bambas for help. 

As they converse, the content creator reveals that someone from the store nominated the veteran, describing him as “very hard working.” During their chat, Bambas replied affirmatively when asked about whether he still works: 

“Yes I have to.”

Explaining why he had to work at 88, Ed Bambas replied: 

“I retired from General Motors in ‘99. In 2012, they went bankrupt and took my pension away from me.” 

When asked about having a wife, Ed mentioned she passed away seven years back and added: 

“She was sick when I lost my pension.” 

The veteran stated that he has struggled since losing his pension. Later, Ed 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 $10,000 of my life insurance. So, I sold my house, sold the property I had and we made it through. My wife died seven years ago.” 

Ed continued: 

“Since then I’ve been trying to re-establish myself. I work five days a week, eight hours a day. [...] I don’t have enough income.”

When asked about what he dreams of, Ed said: 

“Live a little, of somewhat the life I was hoping for.” 

When Samuel Weidenhofer said that he would like to share Ed’s story, the 88-year-old broke down in tears and thanked the content creator. The content creator described Bambas as “amazing,” gave him a $400 tip, and they shared a hug at the end of the video.