Jovia Financial Credit Union helped one family get back on its feet financially during the holiday season when it answered the heartfelt pleas of a 14-year-old boy.

Jha'Meik S. submitted a wish to Long Island, N.Y., radio station KJOY 98.3  the station’s annual “Holiday Wish Program,” which grants requests from some area listeners.

The young man’s request was as simple as it was touching: help finding a home for his mother and two sisters who lived with him in a family shelter.

Jha’Meik’s story described personal and financial hardships, as well as the endearing fact that he’d set aside $200 from his allowance to help in the housing search.

Jovia Financial Credit Union, a long-time sponsor of the Holiday Wish Program, immediately stepped forward upon hearing the boy’s letter and began to think of ways to help the family with its living situation.

In the meantime, Jha'Meik and his family received news from a local housing agency that they were moving out of the shelter and into a nearby apartment.

Upon hearing this news, Jovia Financial presented the family with $2,500 in gift cards at local merchants to help them purchase basic necessities such as mattresses, sheets, appliances, and  other household items.

The credit union also opened a youth savings account for each child, and deposited $500 in each.

"This young man’s maturity, thoughtfulness, and selflessness reveal his tremendous character,” says Renu Dalessandro, Jovia Financial’s chief marketing officer. “This was such a positive story in so many ways, and we’re grateful to be given the opportunity to brighten this family’s life.”

The family was invited to the KJOY 98.3 studios under the pretext of receiving a tour that Jha’Meik had won. There, Jovia representatives presented the family with the gift cards, a basket of household items, and news that they’d set up youth accounts in the children’s names.