Ed Bembas, an eighty-eight-year-old cashier from Michigan, received a check this week for one point seven million dollars after a short TikTok video in which he explained why he continues to work at his advanced age went viral and sparked a worldwide fundraising campaign.

The gesture was initiated by a twenty-two-year-old Australian influencer with tens of millions of followers, who urged his audience to help the elderly cashier who said he has kept working since his wife’s death "because he does not earn enough."

The young man, Sam Weidnehoffer, met Bembas at a store called Meijer in the city of Brighton in southeastern Michigan about two weeks ago and filmed the video.

"Ed’s story reminds all of us that many elderly people face enormous challenges just to survive," said Weidnehoffer, originally from Melbourne, to more than ten million of his followers on social media.

The response was overwhelming: more than fifteen thousand people donated amounts ranging between ten dollars and ten thousand dollars.

Bembas told reporters that he wants to find every donor and thank them personally, and said he has worked at Meijer, a large retail chain, for six years.

"I talked with everyone who passed through my checkout lane because it helped me keep from sinking into grief over losing my wife. I gave them a piece of the story of my life," Bembas said.

Weidnehoffer did not find Bembas by chance.

Lexi Wallace, twenty-six, who until recently had been a regular customer at the supermarket where Bembas worked, messaged him on Facebook and asked him to find Ed. "I thought his name was Bob.

He never corrected me," Wallace said.

"I loved doing my shopping there so I could meet him."

Weidnehoffer said that Bembas will be able to settle a debt of two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars thanks to the donations.

What he does with the rest is entirely up to him.

"It feels like a dream," Weidnehoffer added.

According to Bembas, the money will help him fund a trip to visit his brother and allow him to return to playing golf.

As for his job, he does not plan to retire immediately: "I will probably work another month or two."