REbeL Peer Education

12/24/2018

Dear REbeLs,

About ten years ago, we set our hearts, minds, and souls on changing the world. We focused on the celebration of what makes each and every person different and, more importantly, who THEY are. And we truly believe that because of YOU, we have been on the forefront of a groundswell in how we embrace the uniqueness of one another, through gifting middle and high school students the ability to believe: "I am enough. You are enough. Just as we are." Not just for themselves, but to also teach all those in their worlds to believe as well. Thousands, if not tens of thousands, have been positively impacted by our students, in part because of YOU and the brave work you have done.

Earlier this year we announced that REbeL was taking a step back in our normal non-profit activities. We are proud to say that while we have been hard at work on making REbeL's evidence-based curriculum more widely available with the publication of a manual, our 30 amazing chapters have continued to spread REbeL's message. We started that process over two years ago. Unfortunately, the timing hasn't been right and we have been unable to find a publisher ready and willing to take a courageous step by joining the REbeLution and boosting the movement we have created with all of you.

We also live in a time when there are so many wonderful non-profit organizations and causes that demand resources, and the competition for individual and corporate financial support has become stronger. We have always had to heavily rely on volunteers, individual donations, and corporate sponsors of the Walk to REbeL and Be You Bash in order for REbeL to be successful and grow (a challenge which we hoped the publication of a manual would be able to solve by diversifying our sources of funding). Unfortunately, that grass roots approach is not sustainable.

As a result of the lack of funding and with the confidence that our chapters have become self-sustaining during our hiatus these past several months, we, as REbeL's Board of Directors, had to make the incredibly difficult decision to completely dissolve REbeL as a non-profit organization. Our website, social media, and email will be deactivated. If you are in need of eating disorder treatment or information, we encourage you to visit https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/.

While we are saddened by the necessity of this, we are still encouraged by the work we have done, the work our chapters and connections continue to do, and what we see out in the world as more people demand diversity in what they see in the media. We hope you feel the same, and that you will continue to practice the self-love we have preached.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you and everyone who has supported us in our endeavor to change the definition of beauty and health for every body.

With gratitude,

The REbeL Board of Directors

04/18/2018

Beauty Redefined, you nailed it! Well said.

When someone feels bad about their looks or has been teased or insulted about their appearance, most people's natural response will be to try and fix the problem by saying, "That's not true! You're beautiful! You look perfect!" We totally get it, but we want to suggest a more effective approach. Let's treat the real underlying problem, rather than just slap a band-aid on the symptom.

Girls (and women of ALL ages) are being broken down by kids and adults, online and in person, who throw jabs about their appearance. When we fight back by *complimenting* their appearance, we're solidifying the idea that their beauty is of utmost importance. Continuing to focus on that person's appearance uses the same framework and logic that makes appearance-based insults so lethal. When we stop giving beauty the power to *make us,* we take away its power to *break us.*

💗If this resonates with you, you’ll LOVE our 8-week online Body Image Resilience Course at courses.beautyredefined.org

💗Watch me talk more about this via my TEDx talk here: https://youtu.be/uDowwh0EU4w

03/27/2018

It's so important that males who have struggled with eating & body image issues continue to own their struggles in a public way. This encourages others who are struggling in silence to seek help.

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Mike Marjama’s family sensed it, but the holiday season confirmed it. “My mom made a Thanksgiving dinner. I put like two carrots and three almonds on my plate. And my mom goes, 'Yeah, something’s wrong,' " Marjama said. It was his sophomore year of high school, and even a trai...

03/26/2018

Be YOU! Life is so much easier that way.

03/23/2018

Announcing this year's $1,000 REbeL scholarship winner, Molly Madden! Molly is a senior REbeL member at St. Teresa's Academy in Kansas City, MO. She has shown exceptional dedication to promoting REbeL's values & mission and is changing the conversation around beauty & body image. We're so excited to be able to support Molly in continuing her education & in her efforts to continue to spread REbeL's mission!

03/22/2018

This is how diet companies keep people coming back again & again & again. . . and again. It's a brilliant marketing strategy. A revolving door means profit.

As consumers, we need to look deeper, to be on the look-out for flaws in logic in marketing, and to learn how to tell when we're being played. Self-hate has never, ever been proven to lead to self-love!

The promise of a diet is a huge lie.

03/19/2018

One rebellious individual can generate a wave that sparks a movement, but it takes LOTS of rebellious individuals to create a ripple effect that has a far-reaching impact, that produces BIG change, "REbeLutionary" change. Be part of this movement. Check out our website [re-bel.org] for ways to get involved.

03/16/2018

Never used Amazon Smile? Do your shopping online and a portion of your purchase goes toward the charity of your choosing without lifting an extra finger.

For the rest of March, Amazon Smile will TRIPLE the donation on your first purchase. Select REbeL as your charity of choice, and help us continue to spread our mission to change the definition of beauty & health for every body online while we work on publishing a manual that will help spread our messages further than ever before!

03/14/2018

Happy from REbeL! What do you love about YOU?

03/12/2018

Love this article!

"Weight & appetite changes in adolescence are perfectly normal, perfectly healthy, and perfectly wonderful."

As parents, we must let go of our own fears & biases about weight and encourage enthusiasm & curiosity, NOT FEAR, about the changes our daughters' bodies are going through. Teach girls to trust their bodies, not to control them.

When Girls Gain Weight, Tips For Parents posted on: January 05, 2017. posted in: Weight loss So your little girl isn't a little girl anymore. She's getting bigger, heavier, curvier. Her arms are getting thicker. Her hips are getting rounder. Her breasts are getting bigger. Her tummy is getting chubb...

03/02/2018

Hello REbeLs!

We have an exciting announcement to make. Because of YOU and your support, we have created a movement. Because of YOU, REbeL was born. Because of YOU, there is now a program in schools that celebrates the beauty in all body sizes when there was nothing available before. REbeL’s impact on schools and communities would not have been possible without YOU and the brave work you have done.

As you know, REbeL's ultimate goal has been to create widespread cultural change in the areas of body acceptance, stigma around weight and mental health concerns, and the all-too-common practice of valuing ourselves for how we look rather than who we are. We educate and empower our youth to "be the change" and influence their peers in powerful and positive ways.

However, in order to achieve the widespread change we desire (and that is so needed), we want to make our evidence-based curriculum much more widely available. Because of scaling challenges and financial limitations, REbeL has been constrained in its availability and has, thus far, been a primarily a regionally-based program.

We are excited to say that we are preparing to embark on a new phase in our work - that of publishing a full-scale manual detailing the REbeL program, including why it's needed, how it works, methods of implementation, and our transformative curriculum. The publication of this manual will significantly increase the number of individuals who have the opportunity to access and benefit from our program. In order to make this happen, we will be taking a hiatus from our standard nonprofit operations. We don't have the staffing or financial resources to continue to try to accomplish both roles.

As a result, the nonprofit will not hold any community educational or fundraising events (e.g., the Walk to REbeL, Be You Bash, etc.). We will not onboard new school chapters at this time, but our current REbeL chapters will continue on and are encouraged to keep using the REbeL curriculum and engaging in the good work they've been doing. We will also maintain our website and a social media presence while we work on publishing the REbeL manual. We will provide updates along the way via social media, keeping you, our passionate supporters, apprised of progress.

For any inquiry, please DM us or email [email protected] and we will respond as soon as possible during this transition. We are still accepting donations during this time. Donations enable us to maintain our website and online Programming Portal, an invaluable resource for our Chapter Sponsors. Donations can be made at www.re-bel.org/donate.

We thank YOU and everyone who has supported us thus far, and want to reiterate that REbeL is not going away. We are only evolving. We are very much looking forward to the next chapter of REbeL's endeavor to change the definition of beauty and health for every body, and we look forward to changing the world with you.

Yours truly,
The REbeL Team