Global Outreach (¡GO!) is a service and cultural immersion program focused on social justice, community engagement, and anti-oppression work. Rooted in Fordham's Jesuit mission, it empowers students to engage with communities in the U.S. and globally, addressing systems of inequality.
We offer projects in winter, spring, and summer, each led by a team leader and accompanied by a chaperone. Teams participate in a pre-immersion formation process, co-created with Mission staff and global partners, to support spiritual, academic, and ethical growth.
In Global Outreach, we seek to nurture civically-minded leaders for a global society who work for justice and solidarity in the world while being committed to lifelong learning and holistic transformation. As a program, ¡GO! values an ongoing commitment to sustainable relationships, anti-racism, solidarity, environmentalism and sustainability, community engagement, global citizenship, cultural exchange, education, and multiculturalism.
In 1962, the university sent 27 students to Mexico for the months of June - August, where students participated in direct service with local partner organizations. For around 25 years, Fordham launched a series of ad hoc mission trips to both Mexico and Peru. Campus partners in academic and student affairs supported these student led efforts.
In 1988, the Global Outreach program (35 years ago) was named officially as a student-led club that ran service trips. Global Outreach in the 1990s fell under the office of Campus Ministry. As the program grew, GO became its own office within the Division of Mission, under Fr. Joe Currie, SJ. Between 1988 and 2016, Global Outreach ran close to 60 service projects a year, functioning solely as a student driven initiative and working closely with upwards of 80 global partners.
In 2016, Fordham participated in the AJCU Mission Priority Examen process, through which the external evaluator team recommended a pedagogical shift towards a culture of community engaged learning. In this recommendation, the Division of Mission Integration and Planning merged The Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice and The Global Outreach Program into The Center for Community Engaged Learning, where it currently resides.
Since our first immersion project sending 27 students to Mexico in 1962, our mission has been to engage with, be challenged by, and further evolve Fordham’s longstanding global partnerships. We employ an asset-based approach to community development, working with our partners to work with us to identify community-driven solutions. Through these relationships, students understand and wrestle with social justice, solidarity, spirituality, and their Jesuit education.
¡GO! at Fordham has four foundational philosophies that guide our Jesuit mission-in-action during each project. These include Ignatian Pedagogy, Asset-Based Community Development, the Two Feet of Social Action, and the C.A.R.E. Framework.
Our Global Outreach program follows the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, emphasizing contextual understanding of history, socioeconomic structures, and social justice. Through Ignatian reflection and conscientious action, students engage in a transformative process, cultivating a critically inquiring worldview. This leads to vocational discernment, where students return to their communities with a commitment to service and solidarity for the global common good.
Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) is a strategy that empowers communities to drive their own development by identifying and mobilizing existing, often unrecognized assets. Rather than focusing on needs, ABCD builds on the strengths within a community, encouraging individuals, associations, and institutions to collaborate. The approach is intentional, with leaders stepping back to allow communities to take charge of creating local economic opportunities.
Our Global Outreach program is grounded in the “Two Feet of Social Action,” combining direct service and systemic change. One foot addresses immediate needs, like volunteering and donations, while the other focuses on long-term solutions, such as policy reforms and expanding access to housing and education. This approach fosters a transformative experience that shapes students' worldviews, guiding their vocational discernment and commitment to solidarity.
The GO! C.A.R.E. Framework is an approach designed to encourage participants to contextualize, ask questions, and reflect on the community they serve before engaging with the community to ensure respect for project partners, consciousness of historical realities, and a more authentic experience.
Contextualize: Individuals should understand the broader historical, social, and cultural context of the communities they engage with. This context allows participants to approach their engagement with greater understanding and respect.
Ask: Participants should ask meaningful and respectful questions to gain insight into the needs, perspectives, and aspirations of the community they work in. This approach fosters active listening and curiosity, as well as deeper understanding for historical and structural inequalities.
Reflect: After gathering information, individuals should reflect on what they have learned. This process involves a critical understanding of one’s biases, assumptions, and the impact of one’s proposed actions. Reflection helps ensure that outreach is actually aligned with community goals.
Engage: Finally, participants should commit to meaningful, sustained engagement with the community through the Two Feet of Social Action and continual dedication to the process even after their immersion ends.
The Five Pillars of GO! are Social Justice, Community, Spirituality, Education, and Simple Living. In addition to our four core philosophies, these pillars are foundational to putting our Jesuit mission into action through our short-term immersion program.
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