For young men whose lives offer little hope for the future, the decision to pursue an education can make a crucial difference.Educator and youth mentor Milton Richardson, founder of De Boys’ Day Out Club, is all too familiar with the fine line between right and wrong choices.Mr Richardson recalled struggling to help a club member attend Adult Education.“Had we not come up with the funds, I know we would have lost him,” he told The Royal Gazette.“He was barely holding on. But he ended up getting his GED.”As part of the New Beginnings $1 Million Campaign — aimed at providing the young graduates of personal development programmes with education grants — New Beginnings Education Trust founder Kerry Judd is currently working with De Boys’ Day Out Club to collaborate on furnishing the Boys’ Club with an education fund of its own under the New Beginnings Education Trust Grant Programme.“Bermuda has a number of organisations with programmes that show results for at-risk youth, that offer the opportunity for personal development,” Ms Judd explained.“Participation in such a programme is one of the key criterion for the grants. I made the assumption right at the beginning that most programmes would be facing the same thing.“The young people have participated in the programme, they’ve re-engaged or decided to stay connected with their education — and lack of money gets in the way.”The one-year New Beginnings fundraising campaign, launched in tandem with The Royal Gazette, also supports the Mirrors programme.Said Ms Judd: “The idea is to let these organisations focus on that they do best — their specific programmes — but work with the Trust to establish the education fund without having to cannibalise their own fundraising efforts.“When I created the Trust, I knew I wanted to reach out and collaborate with the various programmes that support at-risk youth. Having already worked with Milton and his boys in a former non-profit life and being fully cognisant of the positive results they have had over the years with several young men, they were certainly top of my mind.”From 17 years’ experience, Mr Richardson knows his Boys’ Club delivers results.He said: “What we’ve found with our boys is that all the ones who stay in the programme for at least three years also stay in school. Over half of them go off to college.“Some had to come and ask for help. I always wanted to have a scholarship fund for the boys, but we weren’t able to provide one.”Programmes such as Mirrors and De Boys’ Day Out Club can also provide volunteers for fundraising events as part of the campaign — which Ms Judd sees as a networking opportunity for young people.“With the campaign, we’ve partnered with groups like Spanish Town Entertainment who are proactive in creating volunteer and potential internship opportunities for young people. We see it as a chance for the young people themselves to be part of the process.”She added: “This kind of collaboration, from the Trust’s perspective, is open to any programme that specifically focuses on at-risk youth.”From a club house off North Shore Road, members of De Boys’ Day Out Club alternate “fun with community projects”, Mr Richardson said.“One day we might meet at a certain place, say City Hall, and agree to go out and give out flowers to the ladies, or help the homeless.“The following day we might have a soccer game. The idea is to have the activities varied.”Behind it all is the objective that organisations like De Boys’ Day Out Boys Club, the Mirrors programme and Raleigh International all have in common: personal development.Asked for a definition, Mr Richardson said: “When I think about personal development, I think of building social and emotional well-being, of developing the total person.”He sees a “domino effect” in mentoring young men.“It’s a space to clear their minds, but the idea is to get them to that point where they pass it on,” he said.Useful website: www.deboys.bm.