Benefit to Help Oaklyn Native Who Identified Boston Marathon Bomber

It was a sunny day in Boston. Jeffrey Bauman was in attendance at the Boston Marathon, watching his girlfriend race when an overdressed man who wasn’t watching the race bumped into him, gave him a head nod, and placed a package at his feet.

“He realized he had to move,” Courtney Bauman said. “He tried to get the attention of his girlfriend’s roommates.”

Then came the explosion.

After Bauman looked down following the explosion, he realized the blast had cost him both his legs. He reached into his pocket to find his cell phone, but it wasn’t there. He had wanted to call everyone he knew and let them know this was the end.

He was rescued by Carlos Arredondo, the man wearing the cowboy hat, who retrieved a wheelchair and pushed him right past the medical tents set up at the marathon and toward an ambulance.

That moment is now an iconic photo from the Boston Marathon bombing. Now a double-amputee, Bauman helped identify the Boston Marathon bomber

His family is hosting a charity event later this month that will not only benefit Bauman, but to also say thank you to those who showed concern in the hours following the explosion.

Jeffrey Bauman’s cousin, Courtney, and her parents, Jeffrey and Terri Bauman, all of Galloway Township, will host the Boston Strong, Bauman Strong Benefit at Kings Lounge/Christie’s Bar in Egg Harbor Township on May 26, 2 p.m.

Tickets are available with a $20 donation, and by contacting Courtney or Terri on Facebook or at 609-652-6464.

'A way to say thanks'

“We’re looking for everyone’s support, but this is also a way to say thanks because everyone has been so supportive,” Courtney Bauman, 27, said.

There’s a long list of people who were supportive, and it isn’t limited to family and friends. In the days following the explosion, Jeffrey Bauman, also 27, received visits in the hospital from New England Patriots Stevan Ridley and Rob Gronkowski, as well as actor Bradley Cooper.

Actor/comedian Dane Cook has expressed interest in meeting Bauman. Bauman was an honorary banner captain at a Boston Bruins playoff game.

Steve Chamberland, of 50 Legs, had encouraging words for Bauman and the other victims of the massacre when he visited them in the hospital.

Bauman’s employer, Costco, supplied Bauman with a new cell phone, new laptop and new tablet.

Bauman was planning on returning to college. He had been attending the University of Massachusetts and another community college in the state, and both schools said they will do what they can to help him complete his education.

There’s been an outpouring of support from people Bauman has never met, including a pastor at a Spanish church in Los Angeles, who called Bauman and said everyone is praying for him, and a stranger from Iowa who sent roses to Bauman while he was in the hospital for nine days.

Yes, nine days was all it took for Bauman to leave the hospital for rehab. After all, he tells his family, he needs to come to New Jersey this summer to visit The Cove in Brigantine and go gambling in Atlantic City.

“He’s an inspiration,” Terri Bauman, 59, said. “Knowing he has a good outlook makes it easier for us.”

He told the family not to put any ramps in their Belmar Avenue home because “when he gets home, he’s going to walk through the doors.”

When the Patriots came to visit him, Jeffrey Bauman asked Gronkowski about his forearm, which he has undergone three surgeries for, and asked the Patriots if they “might win a couple games” this upcoming season.

When told Cook wanted to meet him, his reaction was, ‘Alright, Dane Cook wants to have dinner with me!’" Courtney Bauman said.

And when a bomb went off at the Boston Marathon on April 15, Bauman realized the explosion cost him both his legs, and told paramedics, “Don’t worry about me; I’m not going to make it.”

South Jersey roots

When the incident happened, Bauman never lost consciousness, and was able to describe the man he saw to medics during his ambulance ride to the hospital.

Five days later, Dzhokar Tsarnaev was taken into police custody, and his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was dead.

Courtney and her parents went to visit Jeffrey in the hospital the week after the bombing. While they were there, he received a visit from two FBI agents.

“A woman was working with him, and she said she was a huge help and an inspiration,” Courtney Bauman said. “She said they never would have gotten as far as they did as fast as they did without him.”

According to Courtney Bauman, after hearing that, and after losing his legs in an explosion, Jeffrey Bauman looked at his girlfriend and said, “What a weird week.”

Jeffrey Bauman was born in Oaklyn, New Jersey, but moved to New England when he was three or four years old. He lived in Massachusetts for a time and currently resides in New Hampshire with his dad, also named Jeffrey. He visits his family in New Jersey every summer. Courtney’s father Jeffrey, 68, is a lifelong Galloway resident and worked in the Atlantic County Sheriff's Office for eight years.

Courtney Bauman’s cousin on her mother’s side works at the King’s Lounge, which recently opened at 6415 Delilah Road in Egg Harbor Township. The owner offered to have the fundraiser there.

There will be food, t-shirts and possibly a band. All profits will support Jeffrey Bauman’s upcoming expenses, and all checks should be made payable to the Jeffrey M. Bauman Fund.

TD Bank is also raising money for Bauman, and has raised about $30,000 as of Tuesday, May 7. The website, Bucks for Bauman!, had raised $747,467 as of the same date. Two other fundraisers have been held, including one thrown by members of Bauman’s family in New England.

“I can’t imagine how overwhelmed or emotional they are up there,” Courtney Bauman said. “We took it hard and we’re down here.”

Yet Bauman has managed not to make it through his situation with a smile on his face. Three people died in the bombing, and an MIT cop was killed during the manhunt that led to Boston being put on lockdown later in the week

“I think he feels very lucky,” Courtney Bauman said. “Three people weren’t as fortunate. He said to us, ‘The bomber’s gone, and I’m still here.’”