Meet Grace: Inside the Work That Brings Stand Tall to Life
Every Stand Tall event is powered by a small team with a big mission. One of them is Grace Rowe, working in PR and Communications, whose work behind the scenes helps bring messages of hope and resilience to thousands of young Australians.
We sat down with Grace to talk about her role, what inspires her, and what she gets to see behind the scenes.
Hi Grace, can you start by telling us a bit about your role at Stand Tall?
Grace: "My name is Grace and I work in PR and communications for Stand Tall. I have been with Stand Tall since the end of 2021, so four years in December."
You were actually introduced to Stand Tall as a student. How did that connection begin?
Grace: “Yeah, I first heard about Stand Tall when I attended as a student myself in Year 9, and I think again in Year 10. The first event that I went to I think was at Knox School, and the second was at Luna Park. I loved it as a student. It was just so fun going to a different kind of excursion day where there were other students from other schools. I remember it being really fun that we got to see our friends from other schools.
A few years later, I met Angie Farr Jones, who co-founded Stand Tall. We connected, I volunteered at the next event and soon had the opportunity to start in a PR and communications role, which was exactly what I had just completed a degree studying.
I was really excited to work with an organisation that had such a strong cause-driven vision. I had started my own creative projects and YouTube channels, really wanting to contribute positive content for young people online, so getting the opportunity to work with an organisation that was all about creating positive content and inspiring young people with messages of hope was a really wonderful opportunity.”
Why Stand Tall? What keeps you motivated in your role?
Grace: “Being in a PR and social media role with Stand Tall, I am aware of how much content is online and how oversaturated those spaces can be with content that is not great for people’s mental health. I chose to study it personally in uni. I really love working with Stand Tall and having a chance to come from a different angle and produce positive content for kids that is breaking up their feed.
I am able to see the statistics and the feedback we get from students and teachers, parents and communities, and it is consistently good. That definitely leaves me feeling inspired about what we are doing and excited to see what we can do in the future.”
You see students arrive and leave. What is the impact you notice on the day?
Grace: “Sometimes they come in and they do not really know what they are in for. When the words ‘mental health’ are attached to something, it can feel like it is going to be another lecture.
What Stand Tall does in such a unique way is take a really fun and vibrant approach. We create these environments that facilitate important conversations in a way that kids are excited to be a part of. You can observe the increase in engagement and excitement and attention almost immediately. When the speakers are sharing their stories, you could hear a pin drop in the room.
We have teachers write to us saying their school communities and cultures have changed. They literally shifted after one event because students hear how to navigate bullying, how to be a good friend, how to build resilience and live positively.
Something I really learned personally is that I did not realise how many kids miss out on hearing simple encouragements like ‘you can do this,’ and not just in a buzzword Instagram quote, but in a more intentional way. I think when I started working with Stand Tall, I knew they were having an impact, but I did not know how much of an impact because I did not know how many kids were not hearing these important life lessons about self-belief and self-value. Things that I thought were normal to grow up hearing from parents or teachers, are not what every kid experiences. Hearing these messages is why our events can be life changing for these kids, because if they are not at Stand Tall, they might never hear them.”
Give us a peek behind the scenes. What does it take to run events at this scale, and what sits on your plate?
Grace: “Being a small team, we break it up mainly into communications and media production, and then events management, and logistics. We are a large-scale event organisation, and there is so much to do to get 6,000 high school students through the doors at 9am and then host them successfully until 2pm.
My role involves communications with all of our audiences including schools, VIPs, supporters and volunteers. It involves PR and media release writing and approaching media outlets to generate news coverage. Email marketing is a massive part of how I approach promoting our annual free 7Plus Replay resource. I create content for our social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok and always look for new creative ideas to work with our speakers, produce new content and create touch points of engagement.
For someone thinking about supporting Stand Tall, why does community support matter?
Grace: “Funding, support and donations are critical for Stand Tall because as a not for profit that is not receiving consistent government funding, we literally rely on the generosity of others to operate. To people considering supporting us, I’d say you are not just investing in one event or the students who attend that one event... you are investing in the trajectory of their lives. The ongoing ripple effect of that change in their home life, in school cultures, and in community engagement.
I would encourage them that the return on their investment in this space is so great, and so important. This generation is the future. We want to invest well in that. We want to say the right things to these young people. We want them to grow up caring about the people around them and caring about themselves, and that is what we are doing.”
Finally, what are you excited about next?
Grace: “Generally, I get excited at the thought of Stand Tall taking place in new locations. That is something I really personally care about. We have our event replay that allows us to reach as many people across the country as possible, but being at a live event has a different energy and connection. My dream for Stand Tall would be to see our Sydney event take place as a capital city tour across Australia.
Partner with Stand Tall
If you or your organisation would like to help bring Stand Tall to more students through partnership, sponsorship, or school participation, we would love to hear from you.