Helping Free the World from Domestic Violence
Dedicated to the Life and Legacy of
Alina Sheykhet
Our team began with Yan and Elly, bereaved parents of Alina Sheykhet.
Their world was turned upside down when their only daughter fell victim to the horror that is domestic violence. A loving daughter, supportive sister, proud aunt, devoted friend, talented dancer, and intelligent college student – Alina is far more than a victim and a statistic of domestic violence. Her loved ones vowed to make a difference in her memory. Through the devastation, Elly and Yan turned their grief into motivation to begin something beautiful. They founded Alina’s Light, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
UPCOMING EVENT
Christmas Lunch with Santa 2025
Reserve your spot and join us for the fun—register now for Christmas Lunch With Santa!
February FUNDRAISER
Designer Purse Giveaway 2026
This yearly fundraiser helps us sponsor lifesaving SOS devices for victims of domestic violence.
mission, services, and core values
What We Do
Our Mission
Our mission is to honor Alina’s legacy by raising awareness, promoting domestic violence education, and providing emotional and social support to our communities.
Education
To break the silence and raise awareness surrounding domestic violence and its effects, we are educating our communities with presentations at schools and other organizations.
Prevention
We help prevent violence through the sponsorship of life-saving SOS-devices and advocacy for law reform through Alina’s Law.
Support
We stand in solidarity with survivors, victims, and communities through monetary donations, visits to shelters, social support, and a yearly scholarship fund in Alina's name.
Healing
Our team provides support to individuals dealing with the effects of grief and trauma through workshops, counseling, support groups, and an art-based program called Healing Arts Program.
Advocacy
We work to help victims understand abusive situations, linking them to community services and protection or helping them establish safety plans.
Our team is here to support survivors, honor victims, and be a voice for those who have been silenced.
Community
To facilitate community-wide healing we organize family-friendly community events. Our most uplifting summer event is our annual 5K Walk & Run for Love, while, in the winter, we host our heartwarming Lunch with Santa event.
Kindness
We lead our nonprofit organization with kindness as our core value. Honoring Alina’s memory, we spread light through acts of generosity and love.
Newsletter
Stay up to date with all things Alina’s Light including upcoming events, fundraising updates, advocacy, ways you can get involved, and more.
Recognition
Proud Recipients of the Sherley & Ted Craig Humanitarian Award
October 7th:
Alina's Light Day
social media
Follow our Journey
Alina was a Pitt student. Being back on that campus, in that space, carrying her name and her story - that hits different.
Alina’s Light was honored to participate in the Teal Gallery, hosted by Prevention at Pitt at the Frick Fine Arts Building. The gallery gave survivors and allies a place to tell their stories through art - stories of trauma, of healing, of still being here.
Art doesn’t fix grief. But it gives it somewhere to go. It takes the thing you can’t say out loud and puts it where someone else can see it and say, “me too.”
That’s what this night was about. And being there, where Alina once walked, made every piece on those walls feel even more real.
We’re grateful to Prevention at Pitt for creating this space 💜
We were back at Montour High School this week.
Alina walked those halls. She sat in those classrooms. She was a student there, not that long ago. So when we stand in front of those kids and share her story, it hits different. It’s personal. It always will be.
We talked about recognizing red flags, about what healthy relationships actually look like, about trusting that feeling in your gut when something isn’t right. We talked about Alina. And those students listened.
That alone would have been enough.
But Montour also made a generous donation to Alina’s Light, and we don’t take that lightly. That money goes directly toward protecting people. SOS devices, education, support for survivors. It goes toward making sure what happened to Alina doesn’t happen to someone else.
To the staff and administration at Montour - thank you for opening your doors to us. Thank you for believing this conversation matters enough to give it space in your school day.
And to the students - we hope something from our visit stuck with you. Maybe it was a red flag you hadn’t thought about before. Maybe it was the courage to check on a friend. Maybe it was just knowing that if something ever feels wrong, you’re not overreacting.
That’s enough. That’s everything. 💜
#montourschooldistrict
Watchful Shepherd just submitted another order for SOS devices - the ones that look like regular jewelry but can call for help in seconds. And our purse fundraiser helped cover the cost.
That’s your $25 tickets at work.
You bought a chance at a Coach bag. You also helped put a safety device in the hands of someone who needs it. Both things are true, and we love that.
We’ve been partnered with @WatchfulShepherdUSA for a while now, and this is what it looks like when that partnership actually does something. Not just a logo on a flyer. Real orders. Real devices. Real protection going to real people.
Thank you to everyone who grabbed a ticket, shared our posts, told a friend. You did this.
Watchful Shepherd has a kids event coming up. Heroes & Crowns: A Ball for a Cause on Sunday, April 26th. Trolley rides with princesses and superheroes, face painting, balloon artists, lunch, dancing, all of it. Tickets at watchful.org. If you’ve got little ones, check it out. 💜
alinaslight.com | watchful.org
One of our Purse Fundraiser winners sent us this video, and we had to share. Because it’s not just about the purse. It’s about being part of something that matters.
Every ticket sold helps fund SOS devices for women and families facing domestic violence. So when you play, you’re not just playing. You’re protecting someone.
Thank you to everyone who’s bought a ticket, shared a post, or cheered on a winner. You are making a real difference. #alinaslight #pursefundraiser
Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at Alina’s Light. 💜
Today we’re thinking about love in all its forms. The love that protects. The love that shows up. The love that says “you deserve better” and means it.
Whether you’re celebrating with someone, missing someone, or learning to love yourself again, we see you. You matter.
Spread a little light today. 💜
Four years ago on this day, a small group of grieving mothers sat together for the first time. They didn’t know each other, but they knew the same unbearable thing: what it feels like to bury your child.
That was the beginning of Angel Moms.
What started as a space to simply sit with the pain has grown into something we never could have planned. Monthly gatherings. A circle of women who don’t have to explain why Mother’s Day is complicated or why certain songs stop them cold.
Four years later, this group is still here. Still showing up for each other. Still proving that grief carried together is somehow more bearable than grief carried alone.
We didn’t start Angel Moms because we had all the answers. We started it because no mother should have to grieve alone.
Happy four years to this beautiful, broken, brave group of women. We love you. 💜
https://alinaslight.com/grief-support/
Mark your calendar: July 25th is our Walk, Run & Family Fun event, and we want you there.
This is our biggest event of the year. We walk, we run, we bring the kids, we hug people we haven’t seen in months, and we come together as a community that believes domestic violence shouldn’t be anyone’s story. It’s a day full of hope, laughter, and a whole lot of purple.
So before you book that beach week or lock in those summer camps, save the date. July 25th. More details coming soon, but we wanted you to have it now while you’re mapping out your year. #alinaslightwalkrun
February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. According to statistics, 1 in 3 teens will experience some form of abuse from someone they’re in a relationship before they reach adulthood. It is crucial that we have these tough conversations with our youth in the formative years of their lives, so they can recognize unhealthy love and make informed decisions in relationships moving into adulthood. Need help having that discussion in your schools? Learn more about our domestic violence education outreach program on our website.
Three purses down, and we are just getting started.
This first week of our Purse Fundraiser has been so fun to watch. Three lucky winners have already been drawn!
We just want to say thank you again!
Thank you for buying tickets. Thank you for sharing posts. Thank you for telling your coworkers, your sisters, your group chats. Every single ticket sold is another SOS device funded for someone who needs it, and that’s because of you.
We still have 25 more purses to give away this month, so if you’re playing, keep watching those PA Evening Pick 3 numbers. And if you haven’t gotten in yet, there’s still time to grab a ticket and get in on the rest of February.
More winners coming soon. Stay tuned. 💜
We just have to stop and say thank you.
The response to this year’s Purse Fundraiser has been incredible. So many of you jumped in, grabbed your tickets, shared the posts, and told your friends. You didn’t just buy a raffle ticket. You helped us put real safety into the hands of real people. That means something to us and it means everything to the women and families these SOS devices protect.
Tomorrow the drawings begin, and we cannot wait to start announcing winners.
But if you haven’t grabbed your ticket yet, today is your last chance. After tonight, sales are closed and February’s drawings kick off without you. $25 gets you in for all 28 days, two chances a day, and you’re directly funding something that saves lives.
To everyone already in, thank you. Seriously. You are the reason this works.
To everyone still on the fence, don’t miss this. Text Jill right now.
📲 412-527-2631
💜 Venmo: Jill-Smith-527
🔗 alinaslight.com/purse-fundraiser
This is it. You have until January 31st to grab your Purse Fundraiser ticket, and then we close sales and February begins.
Here’s what $25 gets you: two chances to win a designer purse every single day for 28 days. That’s 56 shots at walking away with a Coach, Michael Kors, or Kate Spade bag. And if your number hits on February 1st, 14th, or 28th? Extra goodies.
But honestly, the purse is just the bonus.
Every ticket we sell puts another SOS device into the hands of someone living with the daily reality of domestic violence. These devices look like regular jewelry but can call for help in seconds. We have watched them change outcomes. We have watched them save lives.
So yeah, it’s a purse raffle. But it’s also you saying, “I see you, and I want you to be safe.”
If you’ve been meaning to text Jill, now is the time. Not later. Not tomorrow. Now.
📲 Text or call: 412-527-2631
💜 Venmo: Jill-Smith-527
https://alinaslight.com/purse-fundraiser/
Only one week left to grab your Purse Fundraiser tickets, and this is your reminder that it’s so much more than “just a purse.”
Every $25 ticket helps Alina’s Light put SOS devices and practical support into the hands of people facing domestic violence in our community. These fundraisers have already helped us protect survivors, support Angel Moms, and say “yes” to needs we could not have met otherwise.
Here’s Elly sharing, in her own words, how this purse fundraiser has changed lives and why your ticket truly matters.
