Griffith Observatory under a wide Los Angeles sky, white domes and lawn at dusk light

Boyle Heights · now open

A free campus with the sky for a ceiling.

Photo: Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles — neighborhood landmark, not the 1st Street lot. Wikimedia Commons.

$15.10M
given

Foundation snapshot · 30 Oct 2026 · USD

Sun on the books

Jimmy Donaldson’s charity foundation pledged cash for this Eastside lot. Rings below are CSS, not a scoreboard you can pay. Families never send money here.

$24.50MPledged

$15.10MGiven

$9.40MLeft to send

Playground with a red spiral slide under a shade sail — Shade-sail play structure. Wikimedia Commons.

Los Angeles basin at night, downtown towers lit against a blue dusk sky — Los Angeles at dusk from the hills. Wikimedia Commons.

Paddle boat on Echo Park Lake with downtown Los Angeles towers beyond — Echo Park Lake and downtown towers. Wikimedia Commons.

The lot

No walls if we can help it

Open Lot Youth sits on 3.2 acres at 1402 E 1st Street. Two halls hold the heat and the homework. The rest is court, shade, garden beds, and sky. Ages 5–17. Hot dinner. Sessions, camps, trips: $0.

Local staff run the day. Spanish at the desk. English on this site. Walk up after school. Register on the porch. Stay until eight.

Read the mission

Thirty sessions a week

Chip timetable

Mon

Suns Shade play Crew Homework porch Teens Court run All Hot dinner Crew Bike corral

Tue

Suns Paint patio Crew Maker bench Teens Studio hour All Hot dinner Suns Story mat

Wed

Suns Garden hands Crew Court skills Teens College desk All Hot dinner Crew Kitchen help

Thu

Suns Snack circle Crew Homework porch Teens Late court All Hot dinner Teens Music porch

Fri

Suns Shade play Crew Maker bench Teens Night walk on lot All Hot dinner All Open court

Sat

Suns Garden hands Crew Court skills Teens Studio hour All Lunch line All Family porch

Full age-band list

Who funded the lot

Polaroids from the funder

Studio portrait of Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast — Jimmy on a gray sweep — the foundation paid for this lot.

Jimmy Donaldson on stage at the Kids Choice Awards holding an orange prop — Same person, louder room. Names still belong to their owners.

Join · $0

Three tickets. Tear none.

Stub 01

Walk the gate

1402 E 1st Street. Bring a grown-up the first day. Desk writes the kid in. No fee, no card, no app paywall.

Stub 02

Pick a band

Little Suns 5–8. Lot Crew 9–13. Night Teens 14–17. Mix sessions. Change next week if the court calls louder than paint.

Stub 03

Stay for dinner

Hot line weekdays. Saturday lunch. Allergies on the card. Seconds if the pot holds. Leave when the lot cools.

From the Eastside

Notes on paper

“My daughter does homework under the sail, then eats. I stop worrying between 2 and 8.”
Marisol P. · Boyle Heights

“Court lights stay honest. Coaches know names. Nobody asked me for a check.”
Andre W. · East LA

“Night Teens kept my nephew off the long bus home hungry. Desk speaks Spanish. Site stays English.”
Keiko T. · Lincoln Heights

Hours board

Where: 1402 E 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033
Mon–Fri: 2–8 pm
Saturday: 9–3
Sunday: Lot closed
Phone: +1 (213) 555-0190
Desk: desk@openlotyouth.org
Kids: 2,900 registered · ages 5–17

Keep the lot fed.

Volunteer hours, school partners, backpacks and bottles — not a payment form.

See how to give