Rick Newell will discuss “Hope Herd: Building an onramp to adulthood for youth in foster care” at the Rotary Club of Mercer Island’s meeting on Oct. 4 at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center, 8236 SE 24th St. The main meeting begins at 12:30 pm. Guests are always welcome.

Newell, who formerly worked at companies like Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and Cingular, now works with youth at the Rotary Boys and Girls Club in Seattle. From his time there, he came to firmly believe that the need of the hour in the urban core is positive male role models, according to a press release. To meet this need, he and his wife started, built and handed off the M.U.S.T. mentoring program. They have now started a new nonprofit called Hope Herd to meet the needs in the world of foster care.

For more information on the Rotary Club of Mercer Island, visit http://mirotary.org/