For long-standing Mirrors Programme volunteer Susan Jackson, the New Beginnings $1 Million Campaign represents an investment in a dream.The corporate communications executive has seen firsthand how Mirrors can have a lasting effect on volunteers as well as graduates — and how easy it can be to contribute.“The bottom line is, there’s a time commitment slot for anybody who’s willing to volunteer,” she told The Royal Gazette.Out of work, and frustrated by her own personal issues when she dove into volunteering in 2008, Ms Jackson was astounded to discover that committing to Mirrors — a programme of transformation for young people — could also alter her own mindset.“I was feeling very humble at that time,” she recalled.Ms Jackson had found herself with a painful amount of free time after losing her job. She became intrigued by the Mirrors programme after hearing about it from friends and attended a workshop hosted by Chia Vasquez of Mirrors’ template organisation Uncommon Results.“I started out as a committed partner. We are not part of the residential programmes but I envy those volunteers that are able to spend that time with the young people, because that relationship you have during those residentials is very genuine,” Ms Jackson said.“As a committed partner, the nine months after the residential is where we work with the young people who desire to follow their goals. You’re committed to the fact that these individuals do want what they say they want. That’s when the real growth takes place.”Over subsequent years, Ms Jackson has coached three males, aged 16 to 22, and three females aged 16 years, over a three-year period.“I've discovered that doing what we expect our young people to do is easier said than done.”She added: “Doing the work with the youth has transformed my life — recognising myself in the young people and being able to change my behaviour improves my interaction with the young people and the community in general.”Loath to describe Mirrors as a “method”, she insists there is no secret technique or special wisdom conveyed during the process.“In the first instance, I just started to realise that what the young people were saying they needed to do, and the challenge to actually do that, was something that became very real to me,” she said. “That’s where the ‘mirror’ shows up.”During her weekly meetings and regular phone calls and e-mails with Mirrors candidates, Ms Jackson found her own life changing — among other things, she got a new job that she loves.“One thing I have always felt strongly about is, based on the accomplishments that I made with them and for myself, if more adults were exposed to Mirrors and how it can contribute to our own personal development, it would make it a lot easier for more and more people to volunteer.“It would be fantastic in particular to see more corporate organisations encouraging their staff, and offering professional development through taking part in Mirrors. It’s a very effective way of getting results in your life.”The New Beginnings Education Trust was founded by Mirrors volunteer Kerry Judd, who perceived that at-risk youth often found their desire for an education rekindled after taking part in programmes like Mirrors, Raleigh International or the Bermuda Sloop Foundation.The cruel twist was that many of these young people came from troubled backgrounds, and their poor grades and lack of credentials made them unlikely to qualify for scholarships.Ms Jackson saw one Mirrors candidate choose to drop out. Of the other five, she said, “for all of them, their goals had an educational component”.“All of them are pursuing what they said they would pursue. One is now going for a higher education, and another one is working very hard to graduate from high school.”She has been left with a powerful desire to see the Mirrors programme “become an integral part of our community”.“When it works, it’s the most beautiful thing,” she said. “For myself, it’s been amazing what I found I could accomplish. That freedom to be whoever it is I say I would like to be is a very exhilarating thing.”Volunteers are now being desperately sought by Mirrors, with the upcoming November residential urgently requiring people of 21 or over to step forward and take part.Meanwhile, the New Beginnings Educational Trust is organising fundraising events and soliciting assistance from the community to reach a goal of its own — an investment in the future of our Country.