Scores of young men consider educator Milton Richardson a mentor, father figure and friend.But Mr Richardson — who founded De Boys’ Day Out Club in 1995 — had no idea he was making such a huge impact in the lives of the Island’s young men, until recently.A few years ago the club, which teaches young men everything from etiquette to dating, was at risk of falling by the wayside.Mr Richardson had become seriously ill and was no longer able to take the boys on regular outings and trips. He said the sickness was a major eye-opener for him.“I was sick for three years, so the club had sort of come to a standstill in 2008. During the time, some of the young men I had worked with still kept in contact with me and visited with me.“One of the guys said, ‘What’s going on? I haven’t seen the van. This thing can’t stop, this is what saved me’.”Mr Richardson heard what the young man said, but didn’t take him seriously until he got his driving licence.“When September and the school year rolled around, he began to take the boys out because I wasn’t able to,” Mr Richardson said.With help from his former club members he was able to resume the programme and hopes to take on between 15 and 30 youngsters come September.Mr Richardson said: “I think one thing the illness taught me was how vital the organisation was.“Even for the three years when I was sick I knew there were young people who could have benefited from the programme during that time.”De Boys’ Day Out Club provides boys age ten up to high school with everything from etiquette classes, sport and recreational activities and an opportunity to take part in community projects and clean-ups.Mr Richardson founded the club while a teacher at Dellwood Primary School. He realised he had to think outside the box to reach male students who weren’t receptive in the classroom setting.“What had happened was when I was teaching it didn’t seem like I was getting through to them so I wrote a note home to the parents that the boys were going to have a day out.“I thought if I am going to teach them to read and write, I am going to have to do something extra to be able to reach them.”He took the P6 boys to Tom Moore’s jungle. They had such a blast they wanted to continue with the outings even after they left that year level.Since then he has become a mentor to scores of local boys — the majority of whom come from single-parent homes and are in need of a male role model in their lives.He said most of the young black men who stayed with the programme for three years or more managed to stay in school; more than half of them went on to college and got degrees.Before joining the club some were on the verge of joining gangs or developing antisocial behaviours. But the club helped some of them turn their lives around and work towards more positive goals, Mr Richardson said.He said many of the young men who were the most challenging to work with, have actually gone on to surprise him the most.“What I have learned is sometimes it’s the ones that give you the hardest times, those are the ones that turn out to really make a difference on society.“It tends to be the ones we want to give up on or write off, but those are the ones that come back and totally surprise you.”He said he was most proud of the fact the programme had come full circle; young men who once benefited from the programme are now giving back and mentoring a new generation of children.“In one way they become self-sufficient, not financially, but in terms of the mission of teaching them how to develop, how to become respectful and responsible young men is now spilling over because they are carrying that out and helping others.”A few of his former students have been involved with overseas missions projects, building housing in underdeveloped regions like Latin America and Africa. Several more have gone on to volunteer their time with charities like YouthNet and Big Brothers Big Sisters or at Dellwood, which is now a middle school.But he said the programme wasn’t foolproof; and a few of his former members had lost their way.“Some of them may have made some wrong choices along the way, there was a couple of them that ended up in Westgate, but the respect they show to others is second to none,” he said.“They always try to project the most positive side when they see me. A couple of them got their GED while in jail and one was released early because of good behaviour. It shows that the catalyst that started in them [in the programme] didn’t fade away.”He said the programme also changed the way many young boys thought about women. “One of them told me it changed how he related to women because of the pretend dates. He has this level of respect towards women.“Now a couple of them have become fathers and are very devoted fathers.”He said the young men have even been there when he was in need of support. When his grandmother died, a former student called Mr Richardson every day for three months to make sure he was okay.Mr Richardson said his goal has always been to train a young person to take over for him. “My plan was to do it before I had taken ill but it just happened so quickly.“I hope to be able to train someone to do exactly what I do and show them it’s more about developing a relationship, because relationships are really what transform their lives, not a programme.”In the meantime he said he still enjoys working with the Island’s young people and is proud of the progress he sees.“It’s very fulfilling, an awesome feeling, because you know a person is successful when they have helped someone else become successful.“That is the same way you know a programme is successful when who you are trying to serve, they turn around and help others have a better quality of life.”Useful website: www.deboys.bm.