New York State 4-H Program Seeking Summer Host Families

John Harrison: [00:00:00] Hi again, everyone. It’s John Harrison in the Cayuga Health System sponsored studios. Joining me in the studio is Autumn Lavine, New York State, 4-H Fair and International Exchange Specialist. Autumn, thanks so much for joining. 
Autumn Lavine: Thanks so much for having me over. 
John Harrison: Oh, of course. It’s, uh, great to have you in the studio and, uh, we’re talking about a really cool opportunity, uh, over the summer.
For families to host, uh, foreign exchange students. Do you wanna talk a little bit about, uh, specifically what we’re looking for? 
Autumn Lavine: Yeah, absolutely. So this is one of those areas that, uh, well is very little known about 4-H programming, right? 
John Harrison: Yeah. 
Autumn Lavine: So we always think about agriculture and sometimes we think about arts and crafts, but there’s also an international component to this.
John Harrison: Yeah. 
Autumn Lavine: And so, um, New York State 4-H is honored to partner with States 4-H International, which is located in Seattle, Washington. So they handle a lot of our logistics. 
John Harrison: Yeah. 
Autumn Lavine: But what my job is, is to find host families for the summer program. It’s a 28 day home stay. We work with Japan, so we have young people between the ages of 13 and 17 from Japan coming to the United States, [00:01:00] specifically to New York State to experience an American family Summer. 
John Harrison: Wow. Yeah. 
Autumn Lavine: Yeah. And it’s really great because they’re coming to share their culture with the families. 
John Harrison: Yeah. 
Autumn Lavine: But they’re also gonna get, in turn, what it’s like to be an American family. You know? Many of our kids are coming to just simply sit in the backyard and eat big burgers.
John Harrison: Yeah. 
Autumn Lavine: Right. They want the big burger. They like American food. They wanna experience everything that your family experiences in the summer. And so it’s a really short home stay. It’s a 28 day home stay. Our youth are arriving on July 22nd, and then they go back home on the 15th of August. 
John Harrison: Wow. Yeah. That’s a real short stay, but I mean, there’s so much to do, uh, in that time. I mean, it’s the summer in Central New York. There’s so much to do between lake trips, uh, you know, heading up to, to Rochester. I know there’s, you know, the water park up there. Uh, we’ve, you know, firework displays and just so much going on. So that’s. That’s such an amazing opportunity. Um, how can you know families apply if they are interested?
Autumn Lavine: Yeah, so they can email me, um, at [00:02:00] aml84@cornell.edu. They can also go to nys4-h.org and go to our, our international exchange page. They can find all the information there and it really starts with just filling out an application and telling us about your family. 
John Harrison: Yeah. 
Autumn Lavine: Anyone in New York State can host, so even though this is a sponsored program by 4-H, it’s open to all families statewide. So we’re gonna have kids all the way down on Long Island, we’re gonna have kids out near the falls, like they’re all over New York State and they just wanna come and spend time with our families. 
John Harrison: Wow. Yeah. Uh, that’s, that’s actually really funny. That you mentioned Long Island ’cause that’s where my family’s down. So maybe I’ll, I’ll throw something out there to, uh, my mom, I’ve still got a teenage brother back at home, so, uh, they, they do meet one of the requirements. 
Autumn Lavine: Yeah, so, um, really you just need to be a family residing in New York State. 
John Harrison: Mm-hmm. 
Autumn Lavine: First of all. 
John Harrison: Yeah. 
Autumn Lavine: Second, um, you need to have a host sibling that is of similar age.
John Harrison: Yes. 
Autumn Lavine: So usually we’re looking for host families. Um, right now about ages 11 to 17, maybe 18. 
John Harrison: Yeah. Okay. 
Autumn Lavine: Um, and [00:03:00] then they need to be the same gender as the child that you’re gonna host. 
John Harrison: Mm-hmm. 
Autumn Lavine: And you have to be able to provide them a bed. 
John Harrison: Yes. 
Autumn Lavine: Uh, they don’t have to have their own bedroom though, so they can share the room with their host sibling. And then it’s just a matter of the family graciously offers to bring them into their home, make them a member of their family for that 28 day stay and do whatever the family does. 
John Harrison: Yeah. Wow. That, that sounds like such an, an, an awesome opportunity and, you know, just a really cool way to kind of spice up your summer. I mean, folks, you know, uh, other than, uh, getting to show, uh, an international, um, kid, someone from Japan, an amazing summer, uh, you’re gonna be learning so much about the culture and and way of life, and it’s just a great way to broaden your horizons and, and get to see the world without having to do any traveling, uh, yourself.
Autumn, thanks so much for. For coming in and talking about that, you know, all of this one last time, you wanna share the, the website and your email just so people can get in touch? 
Autumn Lavine: Yeah, absolutely. So my email is aml84@cornell.edu and you can [00:04:00] find more information on New York, nys4-h.org.
John Harrison: All right, perfect. Well, autumn, thank you so much for joining me in the studio today and talking about this. And for, uh, everyone listening at home, it’s been John Harrison on X101.