Global Outreach! (GO!) is one of the programs that I consistently hear tour guides plugging, see posters and tables for and constantly hear friends and acquaintances talking about. The program involves a group of Fordham students traveling together and performing community service over the course of their stay. Over the upcoming spring break, from March 9 to 16, a total of 39 students will be leaving the city to travel to four different locations and using their time to help those in need.

GO! Nicaragua focuses on women’s issues in social justice and specifically in advocacy. Team leader Brianna O’Connor, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’13, explained that the team will be staying in homes throughout Esteli and working with the women of the town. “We have a lot of cultural immersion experiences planned where we’ll be meeting with women and just learning about their lives,” O’Connor said. The focus of the trip will be on not only service, but also personal growth, which requires all team members to enter the trip without any expectations, according to O’Connor.

GO! New Orleans works to build houses for those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Team leader Jackie Krakowski, FCLC ’14, explained that the main organization the team is planning to work with is the Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal. “They function as an organization who work with rebuilding of homes and fixing problems that homeowners have and working with the communities on that level,” Krakowski said. In addition to working with the Center for Ethical Living and Social Renewal the New Orleans team plans to work with a group called the Lower Ninth Ward, which raises awareness of many of the poverty issues.

The final two Spring Lincoln Center GO! trips include GO! Waynesburg and GO! Dominican Republic. GO! Waynesburg works with Habitat for Humanity to build homes throughout Waynesburg, PA. GO! Dominican Republic focuses on both education in rural areas of the country and expanding access and Haitian-Dominican relations. Part of the major focuses of all GO! trips lies in an emphasis on reflection and the Jesuit ideal of being ‘Men and Women for and with others’. On the trips students are able to experience different cultures and lifestyles. The power of GO! trips lies in the broadening horizons and opening eyes for the students participating.

Stephen McGowan, Coordinator of Global Outreach at Lincoln Center, explained that for the GO! experience, “The impact of the experience may not be immediate. It may happen later in life, like when you’re working. The experience is lifelong.”