Our Story
I was watching television on Valentines day 2018. Watching children running with their hands in the air. Teachers leading other children out of danger as they tried to fight for their own lives. All of this while an active shooter is senselessly murdering his fellow classmates and teachers. This scene was playing out in my home state of Florida. After watching this same scene all over our country and now it’s hitting close to my home.
I was thinking, “How can this be happening in our country? And what can I do to make sure my children come home safe?
That evening after we put our sons safely to bed. We talked about what we could do to help keep our children safe against an active shooter while they are school. We had been around body armor in our careers and knew the impact it had on saving so many lives. I couldn’t sleep all night as I thought what body armor would look like for children. The image was difficult to imagine but worst yet – the image of them being unprotected against an shooter was even more disturbing.
The next morning I sent my boys off to school with the only thing I had to protect them with at the moment – I said a prayer. I then got busy doing my Homework. I learned so many things about body armor and wanted to make sure if I was going to take that leap of putting body armor on my children it had to be the BEST! It had to meet all the criteria I was looking for.
- The ability to protect them from a high powered rifle (Level3)
- Light weight for children to carry
- Slides easily into any laptop compartment in ANY backpack.
- Can go through a metal detector
- Made in America – a must!
After months of looking, we found the best product on the market. A product made by VISM. We then needed to develop a way to talk to our children about body armor & active shooters. This is such a sensitive subject that we didn’t want them to be scared. It was then we created our “Spokesturtle” Tank, Americas Super Turtle. He is an animated turtle that softens the conversation about active shooters. Tank is able to talk to children about how the shell on his back keeps him safe and if you wear your shell you will be safe too!
As we continue to navigate this difficult time in society, we want to make sure our children are prepared. We want them to be aware of the danger and how to respond in the event of an active shooter. We continue to stay in close communication with not only the school but also local law enforcement to help raise awareness about children’s safety.
This journey has now become my mission to not just protect my own children but to make sure all children come home safe.
Thank you for caring enough to read our story and check out Tank and his Shell.
To learn more about children’s safety follow us on social media. @asafepack
