First Conversation Starter
Posted a first approved thread in the community forum.
Community Badges
MAD AF community badges are a quiet thank-you for showing up. Each one is earned by doing the work — starting a conversation, helping at an event, suggesting a resource — not by racking up points. There is no leaderboard and nothing to compete for.
How badges work
- Earned by real contribution to the community, not activity for its own sake.
- Shown on your member profile, alongside a plain description of what it means.
- Recognition, not a scoreboard — there's no ranking, streaks, or "levels."
The badges
All 11 community badges are listed below. Badges marked Verified are only awarded after confirmation by the MAD AF team — they are never self-claimed.
Event Helper
Volunteered or checked in at a published community event.
Event Creator
Created and published at least one community event.
Community Builder
Sustained approved forum contribution over an extended period.
Resource Scout
Suggested a resource that was verified and published.
Verified Volunteer
Completed volunteer verification through the admin review process.
Awareness Advocate
Participated in outreach or ambassador-style awareness activity.
State Captain
Appointed and verified as a state-level organizer.
Naloxone Training Supporter
Attended or hosted a naloxone training event.
Parent Ally
Opted in as a parent and reached a parent-focused participation milestone.
Youth Awareness Ally
Participated in youth-prevention forum discussion or a youth-focused event.
Get involved
Badges follow real participation. A few places to start:
Frequently asked questions
Are badges a competition?
No. There is no leaderboard, no points, and no ranking between members. Each badge simply recognizes that a specific, real contribution happened.
Can a badge be lost or taken away?
Badges are a record of something a member did, so they are not removed for inactivity. Verification-gated badges (Verified Volunteer, State Captain) are only awarded after confirmation by the MAD AF team.
What's the difference between these badges and the badge on supporter websites?
These are personal recognition badges shown on a member profile. A separate "Proud Supporter" badge exists for businesses and organizations to display on their own website — see /badges for that program.
Do I have to do anything special to earn a badge?
No extra steps beyond genuinely participating — posting in the forum, helping at or creating an event, suggesting a resource, or taking part in outreach and training. Badges are awarded automatically or, for verification-gated badges, confirmed by the team.
Looking for the website badge for supporters and organizations? See Proud Supporter badges.