Exchange program seeks host families

July 9, 2015

The Alaska 4-H Exchange Program is seeking host families for Japanese students participating in a four-week summer exchange.

Ben Kahoe of Fairbanks shows his family goat to his friend, Hibiki, during during a past exchange from Japan.

Twenty-one Japanese students, ages 12 to 18, will be in Alaska from July 25 to Aug. 23. Four host families are sought in the Fairbanks, Healy and Delta Junction areas as well as three families in Southcentral communities on the road system. Families with host siblings of the same gender and age range are preferred.

Exchange coordinator Jason Floyd said hosts don’t need to speak Japanese — they just need to be willing to share their lives with a young person from another country. The exchange program has operated in Alaska for more than 30 years. For more information or to host a youth, contact Floyd at 907-831-6003 or floyd.ultd@outlook.com.

See details about the program at www.states4hexchange.org. 4-H is a national youth leadership development program administered by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service.

ON THE WEB: www.states4hexchange.org