12: The Getting Real with Hilary Show with Hilary Burns - Episode 1212: The Getting Real with Hilary Show with Hilary Burns - Episode 12
UK Health Radio Podcast
Heather Shapter shares how a childhood rooted in service led her from starting a teen charity to leading Crossroads International and supporting girls’ rights in Africa. The conversation covers community care, cultural diversity, and practical steps people can take through volunteering, advocacy and donation.
43:51•18 Jul 2026
From Teenage Charity Founder to Global Advocate for Girls’ Rights
Episode Overview
- Heather Shapter describes how a strong volunteering culture at home led her to start a charity at 17 and later lead Crossroads International.
- Crossroads International grew from an initiative in 1958 to send volunteers to African countries, with the aim of bringing back fresh perspectives on equality.
- Girls’ clubs and tablet-based learning programmes help girls understand their rights, contributing to lower rates of child marriage and school dropout.
- Addressing menstrual poverty through reusable sanitary pads is highlighted as a practical way to keep girls in school and break cycles of disadvantage.
- Heather encourages people to get involved by volunteering, advocating for rights, or donating time and resources in their own communities or with Crossroads-style organisations.
“I think from a really young age, I just had this thing that I'd like to end poverty.”
Curious about how others manage their drive to change the world? This conversation on UK Health Radio’s *Getting Real with Hilary* spotlights Heather Shapter, Executive Director of Crossroads International, whose passion for justice started far earlier than most. At 17, while many teens were “driving around looking for guys”, Heather was founding a charity that paired teens with care-home residents through dancing, crafts and weekly visits – a project that kept going for a decade.
Heather shares how growing up in Newfoundland, in a culture where “people really take care of each other”, and watching her mum’s constant volunteering, shaped her belief that ending poverty is possible. She recalls being fascinated by difference from kindergarten, asking a Vietnamese refugee classmate, “Where are you from?” after seeing her squat on a toilet, and how that early curiosity around diversity never left.
The episode then shifts into the story of Crossroads International, born from Reverend Dr James Robinson’s idea in 1958 to send American volunteers to African countries during the civil rights era, not just to help, but to return with new perspectives on equality. Heather explains how Crossroads now supports girls’ clubs in African schools, where girls learn about their bodily rights, education, and issues such as menstrual poverty.
With access to reusable sanitary pads and tablet-based learning, she reports a 33% reduction in girls dropping out of school and a drop in child marriage in some areas. She also shares the example of Tanzanian lawyer Rebecca Jumi, who helped secure equal legal marriage age for girls and boys. For anyone interested in service, purpose or meaningful volunteering, this episode offers a candid look at how ordinary people can plug into global change through volunteering, advocacy and giving.
It might leave you asking: what small step could you take to make someone else’s life better today?
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