About Us
Lighthouse Charities
Lighthouse Charities, based in Las Vegas, NV, welcomes, assists, and empowers refugees and legal immigrants, transforming their lives and equipping them to be integral members of society.
Our Values
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Compassionate Service
We care about those we care for, treating them as real people and guiding them on the journey of healing and reclaiming hope.
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Community-Building
We build strong networks of support for refugees, and we foster the advancement of our local communities by helping vibrant individuals integrate into society.
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Dedicated Empowerment
We are committed to providing the highest quality services to ensure that the individuals we serve are equipped with everything they need to thrive in their new life.
Our mission is To empower refugees by promoting self-sufficiency, encouraging personal growth, fostering healing, and restoring Hope so they can become thriving members of our community.
Who We Help
A Community-wide impact
While Lighthouse primarily works with refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants, our impact is much larger—we benefit every individual in the community through the empowerment and integration of the population we serve. People outside our organization can see benefits in their own lives as their community becomes richly diverse.
Women's Development Center
We provide a number of vital services that help women build the skills necessary to thrive.
ESL Program
A shared language is crucial for success. We help individuals break communication barriers.
Corner Market
This program provides job opportunities and a funding pathway for our other support services.
Our Story
Imagine having to leave everything behind; your family, your friends, your precious belongings, your dreams, and your memories in the hope of getting a safer life. A refugee is anyone who has been forced to leave their home country due to war, violence, or fear of prosecution as a result of certain ideas and beliefs, race, religion, sectarianism, nationality, or political opinion. These families have had everything taken from them, including their identities.
Nevada welcomes more than two thousand refugees each year, and there are currently over 40,000 refugees living in the state. But they are not a burden to our society. They enrich our local communities, creating cultural diversity and helping nurture understanding and appreciation for our country. Years after their settlement, refugees continue to stimulate the economy, often boosting economic activity and increasing wages.
Since our inception, Lighthouse Charities has transformed the lives of thousands of families. Annually, we provide core services to more than 500 refugees, asylum seekers, and legal immigrants. We offer a welcoming, safe, and supportive environment where people can access key resources: life skills and job readiness classes; paid job training opportunities; ESL instruction; cultural mentoring to gain familiarity with the American workplace and business culture, adjust to their new home, and learn about their new city; citizenship preparation classes; and a corner market. We also provide wrap-around support services such as clothing, household items, school supplies, bus passes, industry-specific tools, and employment assistance.
Through our work, Lighthouse Charities has earned the trust of the refugee communities and the confidence of the individuals receiving services. We have garnered a strong reputation in the Las Vegas valley, and are highly regarded as a lead resettlement agency, working with dozens of community partners and more than 900 volunteers each year in support of refugees.
Our Team
Cindy Trussel
Founder
Lighthouse Charities started with one passionate immigrant born and raised on a farm in Australia.
Cindy’s empathy comes from her lived experience. At the age of 11, her parents gathered together their family and explained that they were selling everything they had and moving to the United States. Australia had been plagued by a seven year drought and farmers were suffering and struggling to survive.
After arriving in the United States, Cindy and her five siblings slept on a floor for months as her family struggled to overcome the challenges they were experiencing. Cindy knows first-hand that it is not possible to learn a new language, find employment, and adjust to a very different culture in a short period of time.
Cindy has found her true calling in helping other immigrants find their resilience. This is how Lighthouse Charities was born. Cindy’s passionate belief in the human spirit, her entrepreneurial instincts, and her "roll-up- your-sleeves" work ethic — have already transformed the lives of hundreds of refugees.
Tani Nihipali
Volunteer Coordinator & Community Outreach
Tani Nihipali is a small-town girl living in the big city! She was raised in Alamo, Nevada, a small rural town located 100 miles north of Las Vegas and has been a resident of North Las Vegas for over 20 years. She attended Dixie State College in Southern Utah where she met her husband. She is a wife and mother of five children. Her passion for serving others has grown from a desire to love God and love her neighbors. She is excited to join the Lighthouse Charities team and serve in her community. When not at Lighthouse Charities, she enjoys time spent with family more than anything!
Lindsey Tanner
Program Manager & Food Distribution Director
Lindsey has been with Lighthouse Charities since it started. She left to join the military and is now in the Air Force reserves part-time. She has worked with the Rejesha project in the past, training and helping the program evolve into what it is today. Outside of Lighthouse, Lindsey enjoys working out and building her small business.
Laura Humphries
Office Administrator
Laura Humphries has been a long time resident of Las Vegas for 28 years. She and her husband are the parents of two children. Prior to working at Lighthouse Charities, Laura worked in the for-profit industry for 26 years.
When she isn't working or organizing, Laura loves to learn and is an avid reader. Laura enjoys serving others and is happy to be part of the team at Lighthouse Charities.
Veronika Denisova
Case Manager
Veronika Denisova comes to the Lighthouse Charities family from Belarus. She moved to Las Vegas over five years ago. She graduated from university with a degree in Economic (Commercial) Law and International Law in Belarus. Veronika practiced law for 15 years in Belarus, working for five years at a state-owned enterprise and ten years in one of the largest commercial holdings there. Currently, Veronika is attending UNLV Law school.
Since 2020, she has volunteered as a human rights activist, remotely helping the citizens of Belarus to protect their civil rights. With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Veronika has been actively helping Ukrainian refugees who are fleeing their country and coming to the United States. Through this process, she became aware of Lighthouse Charities and was an advocate and liaison for Ukrainians as she helped them connect with resources available to them through our programs. We are so grateful she has joined our staff!
"Everyone can and should protect their rights. The truth is that not everyone is able to do it on their own."
Tiffany Bennion
ESL Teacher
Tiffany Bennion has lived in Las Vegas since 1996. She is married to Chuck Bennion, an immigration attorney practicing locally. Together, they have six beautiful children, three wonderful in-laws, and six amazing grandchildren.
Tiffany graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in elementary education. She has dedicated her life to raising and educating her children and now shares her passion for teaching and learning with the refugee clients at Lighthouse Charities.
Tiffany's love for her students has grown into an opportunity to teach citizenship classes and work alongside her husband to assist refugee clients and their children in achieving their dreams of becoming citizens of the United States.
Support Lighthouse Charities
Your financial contribution will help us achieve our goal of seeing every refugee find meaningful life and become full contributors to our society.
