Ongoing Recruitment Notice!
2023 HOSTING INFORMATION WILL UPDATED SOON!

The Alaska 4-H Exchange Program needs your help! 4-H is looking for host families for Japanese and South Korean youth between the ages of 12 and 18, as well as 2 - 4 host homes for 2 adult chaperones. Placements can be made in communities connected by roads to the following cities:
Host families do not need to be a current 4-H member to participate but host sibling will be asked to enroll at no cost once a family has been approved for placement. To be considered as a host family email Leanne Haltom here. To begin the host application process click here.
- Anchorage
- Fairbanks
- Kenai Peninsula
- Mat-Su Valley
- All other communities located on or directly served by the Glenn, Richardson, Parks, Seward, and Sterling Highways. Those wishing to host must be available to pick up their delegate from one of the two following hub cities: Anchorage or Fairbanks.
Host families do not need to be a current 4-H member to participate but host sibling will be asked to enroll at no cost once a family has been approved for placement. To be considered as a host family email Leanne Haltom here. To begin the host application process click here.
Hosting: A Family Global Education Experience

Make lifelong friends. Learn about another culture. Become more aware of your own culture as you share it with a young person eager to learn about life in Alaska. Give your family the gift of international friendship and a global perspective when your child, age 10-16, hosts a Japanese, Norwegian or Finnish youth delegate for four weeks during the summer. (Finnish and Norwegian exchanges rotate on a yearly basis. In 2015 Alaska will host students from Norway, and in 2016 students from Finland.)
Applications for hosting are accepted all year on a first-come-first serve basis. All kinds of families are encouraged to participate. Please apply early so you can begin corresponding with your delegate as soon as possible.
A male or female delegate will be matched to each host family based on the host youth's gender, age and interests.
The delegates arrive eager to share their culture and to experience daily life in Alaska. Host families do not need to be able to speak their delegate's language. Youth not currently involved in 4-H are welcome to apply. Delegates can share a room with their host sibling, attend camps and a few days of school and travel within Alaska. They have medical insurance and their own souvenir-shopping money. Local coordinators and a bilingual chaperone and/or support are available 24/7. Host families don't need a large home or to plan special activities, just a willingness to share their lives and friendship with a young person from another country.
The visits are only for a few weeks during the summer, but families gain a world of experience and friendships to treasure for a lifetime.
For more information and any questions about filling out the online application, please contact the Alaska 4-H International Exchange Coordinator, Leanne Haltom at leannehaltom@yahoo.com.
Applications for hosting are accepted all year on a first-come-first serve basis. All kinds of families are encouraged to participate. Please apply early so you can begin corresponding with your delegate as soon as possible.
A male or female delegate will be matched to each host family based on the host youth's gender, age and interests.
The delegates arrive eager to share their culture and to experience daily life in Alaska. Host families do not need to be able to speak their delegate's language. Youth not currently involved in 4-H are welcome to apply. Delegates can share a room with their host sibling, attend camps and a few days of school and travel within Alaska. They have medical insurance and their own souvenir-shopping money. Local coordinators and a bilingual chaperone and/or support are available 24/7. Host families don't need a large home or to plan special activities, just a willingness to share their lives and friendship with a young person from another country.
The visits are only for a few weeks during the summer, but families gain a world of experience and friendships to treasure for a lifetime.
For more information and any questions about filling out the online application, please contact the Alaska 4-H International Exchange Coordinator, Leanne Haltom at leannehaltom@yahoo.com.