Fordham Volunteer Opportunity: HOPE Count

HOPE Count (Homeless Outreach Population Estimation) is an annual survey to assess the number of individuals living in New York City’s public spaces. On the evening of HOPE, which took place on the 31st of January this year, the volunteers are teamed up and sent out to survey the streets of New York, parks and subway stations. This massive volunteer project is conducted by the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS). The mission of this event not only estimates the number of unsheltered individuals, but is also a method to evaluate city programs in hope of providing better services. The event’s hours are somewhat odd as it begins at 10pm and ends approximately around 4pm because this is the best time to survey those who are without shelter.




Caitlin Becker, who is the Associate Coordinator of Community Service at Fordham’s Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, sent out a motivational message the day before the count: “HOPE Count is only 24 hours away... I hope you're all ready for what promises to be a meaningful experience for all--and one that is of great help to our community partners in the Bronx…We had an overwhelming response from students (with 106 students registered at Rose Hill alone!) and have reached our capacity for volunteers. Thanks for all that you did to promote HOPE Count and for your participation, and get some rest tonight!”

A few days after the HOPE Count, everyone (even those who wanted to volunteer after the cap had been reached) is invited to attend the Community Brunch in order to learn more about ways to get involved with local volunteering projects in which the focus will be on Homelessness is New York City. The guest speaker this year will be Doug Becht Program Director for the Homeless Outreach Team at Bronx Works who will share information on homelessness in the Bronx, and ways in which students can get involved.

Last night as we gathered to be assigned to our groups of six, more than 100 Fordham students, faculty and staff fanned out across the Bronx in the snow to participate in the city’s eighth annual HOPE count street survey. Fordham University is infamous for providing the largest number of volunteers than any other institution according to the Bronx Citizens Advice Bureau. Many students bundled up in hats, leg warmers, vests and other clothes to fight the below freezing temperature. Each volunteer group surveyed a 20-30-block area. The volunteers questioned anyone they found in public areas. The groups worked with the New York Police Department and the Department of Homelessness Services to move anyone they found living on the streets into a shelter. The New York Police Department also provided police escorts for the groups that were surveying particularly large areas.

The number of volunteers citywide was estimated at more than 2,000. Portions of the volunteers were used as decoys, posing as homeless people in order to ensure that accuracy of the count. Once the information is compiled, the final number will have some bearing on federal aid made available under the Department of Housing and Urban Development. If any students are interested in volunteer opportunities, click here. It’s a great way to make a difference in the community and meet new people!

Fordham University's Short Study Abroad Programs

Fordham University offers a wide array of study abroad programs to students for the fall and spring semesters or for an entire year. In addition, Fordham University also offers short-term study abroad programs, which include 2-6 week courses taught at various destinations and campus-based courses with an embedded 7-10 days study tour. The programs cover several disciplines: Art History, Business, Economics, Education, History, Italian, French, Medieval Studies, Political Science, Spanish, Theater, Theology, Visual Arts and many are interdisciplinary. All the study abroad courses seek to maximize the unique location and curriculum to its utmost potential.

The winter programs for 2010/2011 are: the Gabelli School of Business Finance Course Study Tour in Galway, Ireland, Documentary Photography in Japan, and International Political Economy and Development Project Assessment in Manila, Philippines. The spring programs for 2011 are: the Gabelli School of Business Finance Course Study Tour in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, China and the US in the Era of Globalization, The Monastic Experience in Burgundy, France, the Gabelli School of Business Accounting Course Study Tour in Florence and Rome, Italy, and the Camino de Santiago in Spain. I am personally attending the study tour of Medieval Spain where we will be walking the Camino de Santiago in the end of May and I am very excited. The class will be meeting once a month for two or three hours in the spring semester in order to discuss and give presentations on the four books we will be reading in preparation for the trip. The summer programs for 2011 are: French Language in Paris, Gabelli School of Business Finance Course Study Tour in Delhi, India, Rome Athenaeum, Italy, International Political Economy and Development Emerging Markets Course in Pretoria, South Africa, Spanish Language Immersion: All Levels of Spanish Language Instruction in Granada, and the Gabelli School of Business Program and Fordham College Liberal Arts Program in London, England.


This is one student’s account of his time while attending the Gabelli School of Business Program in London during the summer of 2010:

Hello, my name is Kevin Yevchak. I am a Junior in the Gabelli School of Business. GSB’s summer in London is an awesome way to experience another culture while taking core classes abroad. This past summer I took a Marketing Principals course and an Introduction to Theatre course at Fordham’s campus in Kensington, London. Both courses were taught by excellent professors and involved excursions around London. For the theatre class we also went on coach trips around Britain to Brighton and Stratford-upon-Avon. In addition to these course trips we also had a corporate visit to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The summer in London went far beyond class and business oriented events. It was a bonding experience with 30 other classmates as we experienced the London culture and explored everything London had to offer.

The courses being offered in the London for the summer 2011 are: The Knights of the Round Table, Their Finest Hour: London, Normandy and World War II, Writing the British Empire: Haunting, Tradition, and Warfare, London is My Campus: A Creative Nonfiction Workshop and The Films of Alfred Hitchcock.
For more information, click here.

Travelling in the Holiday Season

Everyone knows that the Christmas and Holiday season is a great time to visit many of the sites in New York City. Whether they are looking to window shop, attend holiday performances or to gaze upon the Rockefeller tree, many Fordham students find themselves in Manhattan taking a nice study and participating in the city’s wonderful holiday opportunities.


In this joyful season of giving and receiving, many people reflect on the past year and give thanks and appreciate all those who helped them have a great year. The transportation systems that help so many students experience the holiday season in Manhattan are worthy of such appreciation. When giving tours, many students refer to the three ways to get to Manhattan: the Metro North as the quickest, the subway as the fastest and the Ram Van as the safest. The subway costs $2.25 each way, whereas the Metro North varies in price depending whether the time is peak or off peak. The Ram Van, which is Fordham University’s intercampus transportation, is one of the best services available on campus.


The Ram Van costs three dollars each way and there are usually multiple Ram Vans leaving each campus leaving every half hour. For more information about the Ram Van schedule, click here. On average, Ram Van transports roughly 210,000 passengers to and from Lincoln Center per year with an average of 17,00 trips between campuses. The Ram Van shuttle from the Rose Hill campus to Lincoln Center campus (and back) travels an average of 27 miles per trip. If you multiply this by the 17,000 individual trips the Ram Van takes per year, it travels a total distance of 459,000 miles per year, which is enough to travel around the world 18.5 times. The Ram Van also offers Special Trip Service, which may be chartered by University personnel or student groups for University-sanctioned purposes. In addition, there is a super shuttle Christmas Break Airport Drop Off/Pick Up Service, which usually occurs at the beginning and ending of major breaks to assist Fordham students in arriving at their home and university in the easiest manner possible.

The Office of Intercampus Transportation at Fordham is mostly student-run; there are three full time administrations (all of whom are former Ram Van drivers) and 115 student workers, making it a great source for student employment. Fordham is the only college in the United States with a large-scale transportation system that does not outsource for its transportation needs.

CAB Christmas Market

I just had a series of heart palpitations. After writing about various Christmas markets for the Travel Tattler, the monthly travel newsletter that I edit for my internship at Let's Travel!, I have fallen for Christmas markets. And I've fallen hard. I've covered them for two months now and they seem Utopian: people gathered together, twinkle lights, warm food, hand-crafted gifts and live music. visitBerlin.de sums it up best; above a photograph of happy people mulling around a beautiful statue reads "Christmas Markets: Sweet Gingerbread and Hot Mulled Wine."

Excuse me, when is the next flight to Berlin?

You can imagine my sheer joy when I learned that CAB, Fordham's Campus Activities Board, is hosting a Christmas market on campus. Really, an actual Christmas market with vendors, music, Santa, and probably even lights of some kind. I will get gifts for everyone (Asian Cultural Exchange table, here I come!). I will  belt out carols like I'm in the shower. And, to top it all off, I will eat Belgian waffles topped with everything.

My friends, here comes a reason for the season.

Stay Tuned: Lessons and Carols

This is just about my favorite Fordham event of the year.

The Festival of Lessons and Carols features the Fordham choirs singing Christmas music that isn't blase. Tired of your local radio station's Christmas playlist already? I assure you, this is music of a different kind; it makes for a welcome change and a beautiful segue into the Christmas season. (Preview the magic by clicking the listening sample links at the bottom of this page.)

If you're within a reasonable commuting distance, I highly recommend attending! The concert is free, open to the public, and offers an intimate look at a Fordham tradition. Plus, I'll be there; this is my first year not singing in the Liturgical Choir, so I will be a giddy, first-time audience member!

The Festival has two performances: one at 8 pm on Saturday, December 4 in the Church of St. Paul the Apostle and the second at 3 pm on Sunday, December 5 in the Fordham University Church on the Rose Hill Campus. Seating is first-come first-served. In lieu of an admission fee, all are welcome to support Fordham Big Brothers/ Big Sisters annual toy drive by bringing an unwrapped, non violent gift for a child between the age of infant to 12 years old.

Oíche Mhór Ceol and Fordham's Cultural Clubs

Last night, Gaelic Society hosted their biggest event of the semester- the Irish Music And Dance Night or Oíche Mhór Ceol (Big Music Night). The event was held in Keating 3rd at 8pm.


There were many loaves of soda bread, cookies, candies, and other Irish snacks, as well as Barry's tea and coffee. It was free and open to the general public. The Fordham Irish dancers (including Fordham College Rose Hill students: Alexis Kedo, Kelly O’Brien, Ali Silverman, Sarah Sullivan, Colleen Taylor and Lincoln Center student Kyela Crow) choreographed three new routines which were performed in conjunction with the band.


The main attraction was the great New York Irish band, made up of Billy Keenan (vocals and guitar), John Reynolds (fiddle), John Nolan (accordion), and Keith Sammut (keyboard). These musicians have recorded tracks and won All-Ireland championships.


Gaelic Society is just one of the many cultural clubs on campus, which sponsor many events throughout the semester. These organizations include African Cultural Exchange, Armenian Society, Asian Cultural Exchange (ACE), ASILI, El Gritode Lares, Fordham University South Asian Entity (FUSE), Gaelic Society, Hellenic Society, The International Community of Fordham (ICF), Le Cercle Français, MECA (Middle Eastern Cultural Association), Muslim Students Association (MSA), FUPAC (Fordham University Philippine-American Club), Korean Student Association (KSA), Polish Cultural Exchange, Pope Dante Italian Society, PRIDE Alliance (for People Recognizing Identities and Differences for Equality), and the Ukrainian Society. Click here for further descriptions!

Opus Is In Town!

This past Thursday, Fordham was the humble host of the Opus Prize, a $1 million faith-based award given annually to recognize unsung heroes solving today’s most persistent social problems. And, boy, did we celebrate! We had an array of Malawian and Ecuadorian food to honor the sites of the two recipients, awesome music and hundreds of well-decorated sugar cookies. Who could ask for more?

Awesome Opus earth-cookie, c/o Clare Gray-Lewis

Even cooler than the ceremony, though, was the Globalization and the Ecology of Caring symposium that Fordham held the day before the prize ceremony. The symposium featured Fred de Sam Lazaro, who reports regularly for the PBS Newshour and Ethics Newsweekly on grass-roots efforts to improve the lives of the world’s poor. Using clips from his work, he and other panelists reflected on social justice issues around the world while highlighting the work of the Opus recipients.
But what did I get from all of this, you might ask? Well, aside from great discussion, I now have a new book on the top of my reading list, thanks to panelist Jacqueline Novogratz.