Virginia woman dedicates non-profit to late brother

WINCHESTER, Va. (DC News Now) — It has been nearly four years since Crystal Pruitt lost her brother, Kevin Riley, in Winchester, Virginia.

“My brother was walking into a restaurant to go to dinner with a group of friends and he was shot in the parking lot,” she said.

Riley was 29 years old when he was shot and killed.

“It has been devastating, it truly has… he was the glue to our family and he had a personality the size of the sun,” Pruitt said. “And then he just had this contagious smile and laugh.”

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Pruitt started the Kevin Riley Foundation of Hope in 2021.

“Once we were able to pick ourselves up out of despair, we decided we wanted to try to take this and find some kind of positive and make a change,” she said.  “Just watching the heartbreak of my mother…it’s hard and I just don’t want anybody to feel that.”

The foundation provides various services in the community year-round, from advocating for peace to providing support for homicide victims’ families, school supplies for kids in need, and various community events to bring people together.

“We believe that if folks will value life, your life and the life in front of you, then we would have less violence, therefore making it a safer place for children in their families,” Pruitt said. “It’s brought a lot of joy as far as being able to make these relationships with folks. It’s given me a purpose, you know, because in the beginning your purpose is just getting justice.”

Click here to learn more about the Kevin Riley Foundation of Hope.

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