The grant funds would be used to contribute to the hiring of Teapot’s first full time staff member, our Executive Director, Sorina Vaziri. Sorina, co-founder and ED, has volunteered most of her time and has received small stipends for the work she’s done to date at Teapot. To ensure the long-term sustainability of Teapot, it is essential that we enhance our organizational capacity by having at least one full time staff member. Currently, all our staff members are part-time and contract based.
One-full time staff member enhances stability, leadership, relationship building and capacity for expansion within the organization. Their dedicated time and commitment contribute to building organizational capacity, thus allowing Teapot to effectively fulfill its mission and achieve long-term success.
PUBLIC PARADISE is our signature Paradise Tea Garden: a permanent, open-access botanical garden and tea house. No gates, no waitlists, no fees. This space serves free garden-grown herbal teas, hosts artist-led workshops, and provides a vital “third space” for connection and mental wellness in a historically park-poor neighborhood. We incorporate ancient indigenous technology like water catchment and irrigation to demonstrate regenerative living.
Garden Sundaze is our biweekly volunteer day where neighbors tend the garden, learn to grow herbs and flowers, and share tea together. New gardeners learn alongside experienced stewards in an informal, welcoming environment where strangers become friends and concrete becomes canopy.
Art Oasis is a paid, multi-year fellowship for local teens ages 16-21, providing workforce training in event production, arts leadership, and community organizing. Fellows earn stipends, receive mentorship from industry professionals, and produce public events that serve thousands of neighbors annually.
City Sprouts is a free after school art & environmental education program serving low income children ages 9-11. It offers weekly after-school garden workshops in botanical art, composting, and healthy cooking. Six teen-led field trips take families to cultural and natural sites across Los Angeles, to do art outdoors. The program trains and pays 12 local teens as mentors each year, removing financial barriers by providing free participation, transportation, and all supplies.
Together, these programs build greenspace, climate resilience, and cultural connection—proving that a more beautiful, equitable Los Angeles is possible.