What is Stand Tall?
We are a charity organisation running events, workshops and online modules
that help support the mental wellbeing of our youth.
stand tall for what is right
The Stand Tall event was founded in 2012 by Jeanine Treharne, Angela Farr-Jones and Roslyn Hills in response to the tragic level of drug use, depression, bullying, hopelessness and self-harm among high school students.
They are mums who had the desire to see change in the next generation by providing young students with hope for their future. Jeanine and Angela set about creating a unique one-day TEDx style event which has the ability to get cut-through with teenagers and change their mind sets - and ultimately the course of their lives.
From humble beginnings in 2013 where 1,200 secondary students sat in a school hall to hear inspiring stories of hope from a diversity of speakers, the success of this first event triggered a new way of providing effective wellbeing lessons to secondary students. Stand Tall has now become the largest youth event of it’s kind in Australia, experiencing exponential growth over the last eight years. Student cohorts, from a range of schools (generally years 8 to 11), gather in the massive ICC Sydney theatre to hear messages of hope from speakers who have either faced major adversities, or set themselves incredible goals and have then gone on to lead amazing lives.
Through these events we aim to equip youth with the skills of resilience, the strength to stand up to bullying, the keys to motivation, the power of perspective, plus the benefits of making good and wise decisions.
Working with educators, Stand Tall addresses national high school curriculum outcomes for PDHPE by gathering world class athletes, popular musicians, and inspirational speakers, who all share their life experiences in a relevant and relatable way to Australian teenagers. One massive day of positive input into a young Australian can change a life.
In 2020, the plans were in place to seat 10,000 secondary students at a live event at the ICC Sydney. Covid-19 restrictions quickly curbed those plans; however, the opportunity arose to take the event online and it was live-streamed to over 38,000 students across Australia on June 4 and reached 68,000 in the months following.
Now with national reach, and the potential to impact the lives of all teenagers across the nation, the online Stand Tall event will co-exist with future live events. In 2021, over 100,00 students were reached right across Australia at a time when this generation was faced with unprecedented and extraordinary challenges during the global pandemic.
Our aim is to reach over 150,000 students across Australia in 2024 through our Sydney, Regional and Live Stream events.
We can reach and equip all of them for the challenges they face now or may face in the future.
Prevention is the key.
“HOPE is a fundamental component in suicide prevention” - Ms Christine Morgan, CEO of the National Mental Health Commission and National Suicide Prevention Adviser to former Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
And we know it works
The International Research Centre for Youth Futures at the University of Technology undertook extensive research into the effectiveness of the Stand Tall Event in 2019, with this research finding that:
‘The results show conclusively that Stand Tall is achieving its objective of building hope in the lives of young Australians. The teachers who bring the students are unanimous that Stand Tall meets its high expectations and every single teacher would recommend Stand Tall to other schools.’
The messages and format of the event help impact all teens.
By going to a Stand Tall event or by participating online, young people do not have to be identified to be helped – Stand Tall can reach a teen anonymously in a safe and fun environment. This anonymity is key, as it can help those too afraid to seek out help and get the advice they need. It also assists those who didn’t realise that they needed some help, so would never consider reaching out for it. Young people are less likely than any other age group to seek professional help. (source: Beyond Blue website)
"Today our youth face a range of extraordinary challenges, including navigating social media, bullying, mental health, friendships and peer pressure. Now is the time for effective prevention measures, which protect and ensure the mental wellbeing of our youth for their futures. In these Uncertain times, hope for the future is the key to sustaining our young people and Stand Tall delivers that hope."
– Jeanine and Angela – Stand Tall Co-founders
Stand Tall History
“Stand Tall Event Founded
Stand Tall was founded in 2012 by Angela Farr-Jones, Jeanine Treharne and Roslyn Hills in response to the tragic level of drug use, depression, bullying, hopelessness and self-harm among high school students.
They had a vision to provide an event that would engage young people by providing a message of hope and inspiration, presenting it in an exciting, rock concert environment through the real stories of successful, young pop culture role models who had experienced these things. ”
“Our Event Grows
With the generous initial support of Knox Grammar School and Wesley, Stand Tall events were held in the Knox Great Hall in November 2013 and 2014. A half-pipe skateboard ramp was set up in the school in 2014 to provide displays by Skateboarding World Champions and Australia’s best young skateboarders.
1200 students and teachers attended in 2013 and 1300 in 2014. At both events, many tickets were provided free to disadvantaged schools.”
“Expansion
In 2015, regional events were held in Newcastle (500 students) and Shellharbour (600 students).”
“Charity Status
In June 2016, the Australian Charities and Non-Profits Commission (ACNC) approved Stand Tall as a Charity and DGR was granted.”
“Stand Tall moves to Luna Park
The main event moved to Luna Park. Nearly 2000 students and teachers filled the Big Top and the event was a stunning success with spectacular feedback.”
“Champions Camp
We held our Inaugural Champions Camp for teenage boys suffering personal hardship. They enjoyed a comprehensive program of mentoring, surfing, basketball and other sports lessons, talks from leading motivational speakers and lessons on life skills such as cooking and organisational skills.
The camp was led by Brett Murray from Make Bullying History Foundation, with John Starreveld heading up a large team of volunteers.”
“Stand Tall Event on the move
The main event moved to its new home in the stunning Darling Harbour Theatre at the International Convention Centre with 2200 students and teachers from 35 schools, 100 volunteers, 45 VIP guests and 20 speakers and musicians. Teachers described it as“the best event yet.””
“The Second Champions Camp
The second Champions Camp, January 2-6, 2018 doubled in size to include 14 boys and girls. Our Ambassador Derek Rabelo surprised all our campers by arriving from USA on Day 2 and surfing with the campers for the remainder of the week.
Derek then visited Cobham Juvenile Justice Centre with Chairman Nick Farr-Jones, to speak to teen boys and visited Royal Society for the Blind in Adelaide.”
“Stand Tall Event
The June 2018 Stand Tall event in the Darling Harbour Theatre was “sold out” with 2,500 students. ”
“Stand Tall Event
With overflowing numbers for 2019, we moved to the 8,000 seat ICC theatre for a highly successful event in June with 5,500 students. This came with much support from the ICC Sydney, business community and an army of volunteers.”
“Stand Tall Event
In 2020, Stand Tall faced the greatest of challenges this year: providing support to students during a sudden worldwide pandemic. A live event was impossible, but adapting the format to make Stand Tall an online event was not only achievable, but paved the way for the future where the Stand Tall message can be effectively delivered to remote schools throughout Australia.
The one-day Stand Tall event was successfully live-streamed to more than 68,000 students and teachers from hundreds of schools across the nation, with participants given access to a recording of the event for use in classes over the two weeks following.”
“Stand Tall Event
In 2021, Over 5,200 secondary students from 52 government and independent high schools across Greater Sydney and Regional areas attended the live spectacular.
Over 100,000 students from 504 schools across Australia either tuned in for the live-streamed version on the day of the event or watched a recording in the months following - an incredible 90% increase in schools from last year’s online event.
”
“Stand Tall Event
In 2022, Stand Tall themed their events ‘Dream Again.’ Following Covid-19, isolation and time away from school, friends and family as well as uncertainty, Stand Tall wanted to remind young people that the best days are ahead, that their dreams are achievable, and that they can do anything they set their mind to. The annual event in Sydney at the ICC saw almost 6,000 high school students in attendance. Collectively, they heard from inspirational speakers, elite athletes and incredible individuals who have overcome adversity and hardship. This year, Stand Tall took their event on a Regional Tour, to Tamworth, Dubbo and Pambula on the South Coast of NSW. These events combined saw over 6,000 regional students in attendance. ”
“Stand Tall Event
In 2023 Stand Tall hosted another extremely successful Sydney event for over 6,000 students and teachers. The event featured messages from NRL star Nicho Hynes, 16 year old cancer survivor Molly Croft, blind big wave surfer Derek Rabelo, actress Anna Cocquerel, inspirational speaker Michael Crossland and many others.
In November the Stand Tall team returned to Tamworth for the second year to host a sold out event for over 4,000 students and teachers at the TRECC. The community response and feedback was incredible.
Stand Tall also hosted it’s first Parent Community Night where speakers from the student event spoke at a seperate event that night for parents, teachers and community leaders. This was very successful and helped extend the impact of Stand Tall even further than the students, and into family homes.”
Stand tall for positive choices
Stand tall for resilience
Our Vision
Our vision at Stand Tall is ‘To build hope for the future in every young life in Australia’
So why the focus on hope?
Much academic research has been undertaken over the years on the impact of hope in people’s lives. Higher hope corresponds with superior academic and athletic performance, greater physical and psychological wellbeing and enhanced interpersonal relationships (Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology).
Hope is one of the critical metrics in Australia’s Gallup Student Poll (GSP), as hope, or the lack of it, affects student goals, dreams and life outcomes. Our vision is to turn this figure around and build greater hope in all young lives across Australia, and we’ve seen it happen. Survey results from our 2023 Sydney event showed that 7 out of 10 students felt more hopeful about their life. We are committed to continue reaching more and more young people and inspiring them to live their best lives.