Interesting fact: While on a trip in Iceland, Anna, a fearless epicurean, ate a local delicacy: putrid whale that had been buried under the sand for six months!
Anna Crosskill has been a member of the Free The Children team since 2008 as program outreach coordinator. She is passionate about Free The Children's two-pronged approach of empowering youth both abroad and at home, because, ironically, the experiences she hadwith children in less wealthy countries caused her to reflect more deeply on some of the challenges facing youth in North America.
After graduating from McGill University with a degree in International Development Studies, Anna volunteered in children's homes in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. One of her happiest moments was organizing an obstacle course and treasure hunt for 150 children in one of the homes. In addition, she accompanied USC (Unitarian Service Committee) Nepal to remote villages to monitor the construction of schools. She also volunteered on organic farms in Holland and Iceland. These experiences left her with a determination to share the opportunities she has been given, as she truly understands that all that separates her from the less fortunate half-way across the world is accident of birth. In Montreal, she volunteered as a special events coordinator and member of the newsletter committee at a health clinic, a teacher's assistant at an inner-city school and a childcare worker in a women's shelter.
In her spare time, she loves watching films, baking, trying random hole-in the-wall restaurants with friends, going to comedy clubs and listening to music-the kitschier the better! Her favourite quote is from poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: "If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each person's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostilities."