You must be at least 18 years old by the time of the trip to participate. You can apply if you are 17 as long as you will be 18 when the trip starts. There is no upper age limit, but please keep in mind that our trips are meant for college-aged students, and they will be given preference during the application process. Although we love and appreciate parents, they are not allowed to accompany their children on a FOCUS Mission trip.
SEE MORESEE LESS 
The Basics
Who We Work With: Hope of the Poor
Trip Capacity: 25
Cost: $2,500 – $2,950
Dates:
- 02/27/26 – 03/08/26: Mexico City 1 – Northwest Missouri State
- 03/06/26 – 03/15/26: Mexico City 2 – Auburn University
- 03/20/26 – 03/29/26: Mexico City 4
- 03/27/26 – 04/02/26: Mexico City 5 – United States Military Academy
- 04/03/26 – 04/10/26: Mexico City 6 – University of Louisiana – Lafayette
- 05/10/26 – 05/17/26: Mexico City Summer – Minnesota Schools
*Rates and price subject to change.
About the Trip
Type of Service: Corporal Works of Mercy, Service
What’s Included: Travel insurance, pre-trip orientation, post-trip debriefing, food and lodging in-country, project materials, in-country transportation
What’s Not Included: Immunizations and personal travel medicines, travel to and from U.S. departure city (determined by FOCUS Missions), passport and visa expenses, other personal incidentals.
Fundraising: Each FOCUS Missions Participant has the opportunity to fundraise the entire cost of his or her mission trip. After you have been accepted on a mission trip, you will be contacted by your personal fundraising coach.
What’s Not Included: Immunizations and personal travel medicines, travel to and from U.S. departure city (determined by FOCUS Missions), passport and visa expenses, other personal incidentals.
Fundraising: Each FOCUS Missions Participant has the opportunity to fundraise the entire cost of his or her mission trip. After you have been accepted on a mission trip, you will be contacted by your personal fundraising coach.
Promoting Safety and Mitigating Risk
FOCUS Missions holds safety for our participants as the primary concern for any mission trip we send. We offer trips to locations once they have been initially researched and vetted with people on the ground, as well as checked and monitored for safety from our security consultant.
Other precautions FOCUS Missions takes include consulting government agencies, such as the U.S. State Department, the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), and the Center for Disease Control regarding traveler health. FOCUS Missions also has a number of resources dedicated to promoting safety and mitigating risk, including training every Mission Director in safety and risk management at our Mission Director Leadership Summit, arranging insurance policies for each trip, and equipping our staff and students with safety guidelines at trip orientation.
FOCUS Missions takes great pride in partnering with local religious orders, apostolates, and organizations in every location we serve. We regularly communicate with our contacts before the mission to plan the trip and assess on-the-ground conditions. We reserve the right to re-route or cancel a trip if there is a confirmed safety concern.
Notwithstanding reasonable efforts to make our trips safe, there are inherent risks to travel and to the activities associated with our trips, and FOCUS cannot guarantee 100% safety under all circumstances. Participants in our trips knowingly assume these risks.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old do I have to be to participate in a FOCUS Mission trip?
When do the applications close?
Applications for spring break trips close on November 30 and applications for summer trips will close on February 15.
I don’t know how to fundraise/No one wants to give me money to go on a trip!
Every FOCUS Missions participant is trained to effectively fundraise their mission trip cost. As FOCUS Missionaries, we raise our entire salary, trusting in people’s generosity and God’s grace to provide us with our spiritual and physical needs. If you feel called to participate in a FOCUS Mission, you will have the tools and support available to fundraise for your trip. A missionary will walk with you throughout the entire fundraising process. Allowing others to support us through their financial commitments and prayers is essential to the success of FOCUS Missions!
I’m not a Catholic, can I still participate on a FOCUS Mission Trip?
FOCUS Mission Trips are designed to be effective on two fronts: we provide aid to those in most need around the world and aim at building up the faith of those who volunteer on our mission trips. The latter goal, while certainly carried out with a Catholic angle, should not discourage anyone from applying. Catholics and non-Catholics alike are invited to take part in this excellent opportunity to do as Jesus did, working with the poor and “[making] disciples of all nations.” As a volunteer, you are asked to participate in group prayer and join in on faith discussions, but you will not be forced to participate in exclusively Catholic practices (i.e. the rosary, Catholic Mass etc).
Where can I get more information about FOCUS the organization?
Non-students are allowed to apply for FOCUS mission trips. However, since our organization primarily caters to college students, students will have priority in trip placements. If there is a spot available on a mission trip after all the students have been placed, non-students will then be placed on the trip.
I want to make a financial contribution to FOCUS Missions. How can I do this?
I don’t know how to fundraise/No one wants to give me money to go on a trip!
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