CHELMSFORD -- They live thousands of miles away from Greater Lowell and have never met Boston Marathon bombing victim Jeff Bauman, who lost both his legs at the finish line. But when they learned that Bauman played guitar, it was a no-brainer to help out.

Nathan Brubaker, of Oregon, and Ryan Baldwin, of Virginia, are leading a fundraising effort to buy Bauman a Gibson SG, the Chelmsford resident's dream guitar.

"We realize that medical bills are a top priority right now, but we feel like music is good for your health and can last a lifetime," said Baldwin, 23, of Chesapeake, Va. "It's really the gift that keeps on giving."

Baldwin and Brubaker, 27, of Portland, Ore., came together through a guitar forum on Reddit, a social-networking website. In the guitar forum, they found out through a New York Times article that Bauman, 27, is an avid guitarist and singer.

As a result, they started posting on the forum about raising money to buy Bauman a guitar, and the response was overwhelming, they said.

"We had 80 people saying it'd be a great idea, and it's really taken off," said Baldwin, who works at American GFM, a Virginia machine shop. "There's that unspoken connection between guitarists. If I put myself in his situation, I know that music would really get me through those times."

Brubaker connected with Bauman's friends on the guitar forum to find out which guitar to get him. Many rock bands, including AC/DC, use the Gibson SG guitar, Brubaker said.

They still don't know how to deliver the guitar to Bauman.

"Jeff's friends said he was very humble in passing it off. He said, 'They don't need to get me a guitar,' " according to Brubaker, an IT worker at the Art Institute of Portland. "But we're pretty steadfast on this idea. We're going to do it."

They are trying to raise $1,500 for the Gibson SG guitar. As of Friday morning, they had raised $292.

In the "Bucks for Bauman" fund, which is going to Bauman's medical and living costs, there was $692,000 as of Friday morning.

To donate to the guitar fund, visit

To donate to the "Bucks for Bauman" fund, visit

Follow Rick Sobey on Twitter @rsobeyLSun.