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They've seen the problem first-hand. Now they're offering a solution. It's called BukRap. It's intended to lessen the load that schoolchildren deal with daily. More accurately, BukRap redistributes the load. And that can ease pain and save spines, say Marsha Auster and Joan Tankey. Auster, a guidance director at Lewiston High School and Tankey, a health educator at Lewiston Middle School, say BukRap, a multi-pocketed vest, should replace backpacks used by young people to haul books, lunches and gym clothes from home to school and back. BukRap is more comfortable, they say, and better for kids' posture and health.
Dollars and sense
They also stand to make money for each book vest sold. The two invented BukRap and formed TanMarsh Inc. to manufacture and market it.
Auster, of Auburn, and Tankey, of Lewiston, readily admit they're in business to make money. They've spent thousands of dollars, they said, on research, legal fees associated with getting a patent, forming their corporation, developing prototypes and building an inventory.
Backpack safety issues have come to the fore in education as well as the medical profession.
And that doesn't count the hundreds of hours the two spent on the project. They'd like to recoup their investment, and then some. But they also want to help school kid to save their backs. BukRap might also save Tankey some pain. She tripped over a backpack left on a floor not too long ago, she said, and she can show the scar to anyone who wants to see it. Backpack safety issues have come to the fore in education as well as the medical profession. The American Academy of Pediatrics says children should carry no more than 10 to 20 percent of their own body weight. Typically, the academy says, bags should weigh less than 15 pounds. Chiropractors agree.
Health comes first
One doctor, Marvin T. Arnsdorff, was so concerned about it that he founded Backpack Safety America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the healthy use of backpacks. "Children across North America are doing serious damage to their spines and their future health by improper use of backpacks," Arnsdorff said. Carrying the added weight of heavy books means young people are hunched over as they walk to and from school and home. "As the twig is bent, so grows the tree," Arnsdorff said.
For More Information go to www.BukRap.com
At the Sun Journal's request, he visited BukRap Web site. "This is the first time I've seen this product," he said of BukRap, "so I cannot exactly comment from seeing it firsthand in person" However, Arnsdorff added, "The vest does appear to be able to distribute weight around a student's body efficiently." He noted that without having one to examine he couldn't determine BukRap's ability to wear well while packed with three-ring binders, large books, lunch packs and gym clothes.
Megen 'loves it'
No problems there, said Megen Poulin, a Holy Cross School student. She's been wearing a BukRap for weeks now, she said, and "loves it." Across the back of the vest is a double pocket; the inner layer has ample room to hold gym shorts and a T-shirt, towel and sneakers. The outer pocket could easily hold a couple of sandwiches and an apple or orange with room to spare. Arnsdorff also said, "There may be some resistance from kids to make such a fashion change." Poulin, Tankey's niece, said her schoolmates ask about the vest. None make fun of her when she wears it, she said. Ditto, said Auster. She sent a BukRap to a nephew in Philadelphia. "He loves it," She said, adding that his friends keep asking where they can get one. And during field tests at King Middle School in Portland, 28 percent of the students trying BukRap called it "cool," Auster said.
Cell phone pocket
That's not surprising, both women said, noting that vests "are in" on the fashion scene right now. BukRap's front chest pockets designed to hold sunglasses and a cell phone, as well as clips to hold keys, adds to it s appeal, they said. At $89.95 retail, the nylon and mesh vests aren't cheap, but they are comparable in price to high -end backpacks designed for carrying books and school gear. Some are available at Holy Cross School's bookstore at a discount price as a school fund-raiser, Tankey said. They're also available at Porteous at the Auburn Mall. Auster said they've talked with L.L. Bean about including the BukRap product line, and are in talks with a marketing firm to develop additional outlets. The vests are also available online for an added $6.95 shipping and handling charge. Since production testing during the summer, TanMarsh has sold about four dozen of the book vests, the women said. They're hoping to see some sales for Christmas, but expect it will be summer before sales really start to take off. When that happens, Auster said, watch out. More colors -- school colors - will be come available, as will custom features such as school logos or mascots. Next up: Possible a variation of the vest, one designed to hold carpenters' tools.
dfletcher@sunjournal.com
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