Family launches 'Play for Blake' to honor teen killed in Boynton Beach bicycle accident

A Boynton Beach couple is working to change lives and honor their son's memory after the teenager lost his own life in a bicycle accident this year.

Darren and Amy Buchbinder said their son, 13-year-old Blake Buchbinder, loved sports. If he wasn't watching them, he was playing them, and while he dabbled in basketball, hockey and American football, his passion for soccer always reigned supreme.

“He was the kind of kid who would wake up on Sunday mornings to watch Liverpool," Darren Buchbinder said. "He knew all of the players of all the teams in the Premier League. He really just lived for it. He’d come home, go out back and kick the soccer ball around. He would look forward to every weekend when we had games."

But his son, who played as a team captain at the Boynton Knights FC, began to notice something during those travel soccer games: players on the opposing team sometimes played with holes in their shoes or other signs of wear and tear on their equipment.

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Why, he wondered, did some people have less than others? And after the teenager's abrupt passing, his family set out to ensure that all children have a chance to enjoy soccer in the same way that Blake Buchbinder did for so many years.

“Blake is the kind of kid who would want that," his father said. "He would want it to be fair and equal for everyone."

Family wants Palm Beach County kids to 'Play for Blake' after tragedy

Blake Buchbinder died on the evening of June 14 while riding his bicycle with friends.

Police said the teenager was riding his bike in a crosswalk at the busy intersection of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Lyons Road, "crossing against the traffic signals" and into the path of an oncoming SUV when the accident unfolded.

An immediate outpouring of love and support followed. Friends shared memories of the funny, charismatic teenager on social media, and more than 600 people attended his funeral days later, packing Beth Israel Chapel and overflowing into the parking lot, his father said.

“We used to joke when he was in preschool — it started very young — that he was like the mayor," Darren Buchbinder said. "I’d go to pick him up from school, walk down the hallway and everybody knew him. He had this incredible ability. Everybody knew who he was and everybody liked him.”

Ever since the tragedy, Buchbinder's family has worked to set up the Play for Blake Foundation. The nonprofit is now raising money to give underprivileged kids the resources they need to play soccer and to enjoy all of the physical and mental benefits that come with playing a team sport.

That could mean buying new shin guards, soccer balls or other equipment for players in need, or helping to fund coaching positions at local schools.

“Anything we can do to help level the playing field," Darren Buchbinder said.

Hundreds attend Play for Blake kick-off event in Coconut Creek

On Sep. 28, one day before Blake Buchbinder's 14th birthday, the teenager's family held an event to honor his life and to launch the Play for Blake Foundation.

Held at the Diadem Pickleball Complex in Coconut Creek, with help from the Red Meat Lovers Club, the kick-off event raised about $65,000 to $80,000 for the family's new foundation, Darren Buchbinder said, adding that silent auction payments were still being tallied.

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He said the outpouring of support for his son has been overwhelming, and that Play for Blake has hopes of expanding beyond Palm Beach County and into Broward, Martin and Miami-Dade counties in the future.

"I didn’t know how many friends he had until after the accident," the father said.

Future events, along with opportunities to volunteer or donate, will be posted to the foundation's Facebook and Instagram accounts, and to its website, playforblake.org.

Giuseppe Sabella is a reporter covering Boynton Beach and Lake Worth Beach at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at gsabella@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Buchbinder family starts foundation after Boynton Beach bicycle fatality