In Honor: AustinBlu Foundation

JUPITER, FL – June 29, 2017 – July 24th will mark the second year of a tragic episode that hasn’t been forgotten by the Jupiter community. On that fateful day, local teens Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen headed out into the Atlantic Ocean by boat as a storm approached in the distance, and shortly after, they were never seen or heard from again.

Following their disappearance, a massive search ensued by sea and land. Volunteers from Jupiter and surrounding areas arrived in droves and teamed up with Coast Guard crews to conduct a search that spanned over a 50,000-nautical-mile radius of ocean and beaches. That action immortalized the good will of the people of Jupiter: The unity of a community exemplified at the height of adversity.

And, sure enough, from this darkness came light in the way of charitable endeavors. Two organizations were formed: The AustinBlu Foundation and the Perry J. Cohen Foundation. Each organization has their own mission and agenda, but at the heart of both is honoring Austin and Perry through various efforts that consist of community involvement and fundraising.

AustinBlu Foundation

The AustinBlu Foundation’s (ABF) mission centers on boater safety, and they carry out their aim by raising awareness and enforcing the need for everyone that is looking to get behind the wheel of a boat to take a safety course and, furthermore, complete a Boating Safety Checklist before getting underway to prevent near-shore and offshore boating accidents. As of June 2017, over 600 kids have gone through an ABF-sponsored boating safety class.

The organization is also committed to supporting legislative motions designed to give boaters incentives to acquire safety devices such as Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs). EPIRBs send out a distress signal that rescuers can use to pinpoint the location of someone who needs help. Due to the foundation’s advocacy of EPIRBs coupled with the efforts of Representative MaryLynn Magar and Senator Joe Negron, the Beacon Bill HB711 was passed into law earlier this year with a unanimous approval from the Florida House and Senate. The goal of the bill is to encourage the use of devices like EPIRBs and PLBs (personal locator beacon), which can help the Coast Guard and other search-and-rescue authorities locate boaters in distress. The bill is permanent and will not need to be renewed. The Beacon Bill offers Florida boat owners a 25 percent discount on their vessel registration if they have a registered EPIRB. The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department will be absorbing the cost of the discount meaning there is no appropriation needed.

Representative Colleen Burton of Lakeland told how her own son, Tim was rescued last December thanks to an EPIRB. “The reason Tim and his friend Billy were rescued was because they had a personal locating beacon,” says Representative Burton. “It saves lives.”

Austin’s parents, Carly Black and Blu Stephanos, affirm that the representative’s son’s story is in line with one of the goals of the ABF.

“We felt that the best way to memorialize our son was to devote all of our efforts toward implementing real changes that would spare other parents the heartache that we have to endure,” says Carly Black. “We are confident that the Beacon Bill will do just that.”

Light the Coast

Last year, during the first anniversary of their disappearance, thousands of members of the community gathered by land and boat at the Jupiter Inlet for the “Light the Coast for Austin and Perry” event, a candlelight vigil that was actually held at locations all over the world to remember the two teens. Community members lit candles, said their prayers, filled the firmament with sky lanterns, and paid their individual respects to Austin and Perry and their families. As the date nears this year, it’s all but probable the community will gather to once again commemorate two of their own. •

For more information or to donate, please visit www.austinblufoundation.org.