Our Story
Active Shooters in our schools are an epidemic. Although current
code red drills are at an all-time high, so are the deaths and injuries.
DefendAPack® is a patented bulletproof safety device, designed to keep our Children and Teachers Safe in Schools. Our goal is for to become a national safety protocol standard.
You see that was the day that a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida, killing 17 students and staff members and injuring dozens of others.
Larry will never forget the fear that was in his daughter's eyes, as they watched the horror unfold on the television.
Larry will never forget the sense of helplessness he had, trying to find the words to comfort her...and put his own mind at ease.
Then his daughter looked at him, and asked, "Dad, how am I ever going to feel safe in school again?"
She asked, what Larry was already feeling. And that's when it happened; he honestly felt like he got a flash from God above, about creating a product that would keep her safe, her friends, her teachers, everyone, protected at school.
So, Larry got out his sketch pad, and designed a bulletproof vest, and backpack, that his daughter could bring to school. Now, Larry did not have an engineering degree, nor did he have any military or law enforcement background. But what he did have was a love for his daughter, and a compulsion to keep her protected.
He showed his daughter the pattern he had drawn, and asked her to teach him how to use her sewing machine...as she is really a talented designer.
In less than 24 hours, Larry had a prototype of what is now, the "DefendAPack Vest".
Larry showed it to his daughter and she was amazed and said she thought it was an idea from Heaven, sent down to protect her.
And then she asked Larry, "Dad, what about my friends?"
That's when Larry knew he had to make this product available for all children, so that parents could have the same sense of peace sending their children to school, as he now did with his daughter.
Never had Larry felt such a burden in his life, to do something...and do it FAST. He knew that as long as policy makers were going to go back and forth on gun safety vs. new laws, we needed a solution NOW to keep our children safe.
What started out as a goal to protect his daughter, has turned into a mission to protect as many people as possible...both children and adults at school!
So, while congress and gun lobbyists continue to argue, we need to do something NOW to protect our children and teachers from an active shooter situation in the future (God forbid it happen again)!
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CEO, Larry James, discusses the Birth of DefendAPack®.
DefendAPack® Vests should be deployed in Schools, just as Life Vests are on Cruise Ships.
CEO, Larry James, shares how his DefendAPack® vision is both a blessing and a burden.
