New to Rebel Badge Club?
In October last year I published Rebel Badge Book as a test. I’d thought about creating an app, and all the quotes I got were really expensive, so I decided to go ‘analogue’ and trying to publish the idea as a book instead. When I first created the book, it was just a book and 52 badges.
I created a Facebook Group as a place where people doing the badges in the book could keep each other accountable. Over the past eleven months the group has grown into a club of almost 4000 Rebels from all over the world, and with the group growing, so have all things Rebel. I’ve been able to apply suggestions by Club members - such as sticker versions of the badges - and as interest in the badges has grown, so has the breadth of those badges! There are now lots of different things to get involved with - do as little or as much as you like, it’s designed so there is something for everyone!
The blog post seeks to explain some of the main parts of Rebel Badge Club (see also our FAQs page).
1) The Facebook Group - a place to share your badge work and ask the group questions! If you are new to the group, please read all the pinned posts before asking any questions. If your question still hasn’t been answered by them, search the group (using the magnifying glass icon) for a keyword or phrase from your question for example ‘orchid’ or ‘gardener badge’ - any previous questions will come up from your search. This is the quickest way to get an answer as often many Rebels will have asked the same question and had an answer.
2) Online Store - This is just me, currently packing everything from my spare bedroom! If you have an issue or need to make a change please email me using the email address on your confirmation email - FB messages get easily lost so please email where possible.
3) New Badge Ideas - Do you have badge suggestions or want to get more involved with the club, choosing activities, merchandise and deciding where events take place? Come and join The Rebel Council, a subscription based members-only Facebook Group where Rebels act as a ‘steering committee’ shaping the future of RBC. NB - You will need to sign up on the Rebel store before being accepted into the group.
5) New Badges - In November of this year Volume 2 of Rebel Badge Book will be published. There are currently 5 badges from the book available - the syllabuses appear on this blog and also in the Facebook group. They are Sign Language, My Collection, Advanced Craft, Rebel Buddy and Builder.
6) Monthly Challenge Badges - Lots of Rebels suggested simpler or time-specific challenges for new badges when I was creating Volume Two, and so we’ve started doing these badges too. Every month there is a monthly challenge badge - so far we’ve done an annual Health Check, a Scavenger Hunt, a Food Bank Challenge, and we have Halloween and Christmas Challenges. Challenge badges sell out quickly so if you plan to complete them, order early, as I only order one batch of these limited badges.
7) Quarterly Challenge Badges - these are created to match the current year badge (purple for 2022, pink for 2023). There are 4 a year, designed to help you decide which badges to do next. These are limited orders, so again, order early to avoid disappointment. The next Quarterly Challenge will be the 1st Birthday Challenge (October 2022 to December 2022). There are still a few Carpe Diem badges left (the 3rd quaterly challenge of 2022).
8) The Maverick Awards - these are longer challenge badges inspired by the Queen’s Scout, Queen’s Guide and Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Schemes. These awards are assessed, include a log book to record your work and will take between 6 and 18 months to complete. Check out the Maverick FAQs for more details.
9) Rebel Summer Camp - The first large scale event will take place in August 2023 in Bromsgrove, Birmingham - full details on the website.
10) Big Rebel Meet Ups - we are currently testing single day events in the UK - the first two have been booked in for Reading in October and Stockport in November - tickets are available on the website.