We had the good fortune of connecting with Karen “Heavenly Los Angeles” Funes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karen “Heavenly Los Angeles”, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
As a certified California paralegal, a mother of 3, from low economic background & of indigenous heritage I wanted to give back to my local LA community as a volunteer helping guide others in need to resources. We are currently experiencing so much homelessness, food insecurity, inflation, high gas prices, disability discrimination & mental health crisis in LA County. It costs twice as much to live & survive here then other parts of the United States. I believe that together we can make a more Heavenly Los Angeles for everyone including youth, people with disabilities, seniors & people who need someone positive in their life. Our nonprofit was established on 11/07/2022 and that’s actually my grandmother’s birthday & she was a big inspiration in my life. She was a principal of her local community school and a strong advocate for children & family rights.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Heavenly Los Angeles, Org is a California registered 501c3 nonprofit. The specific purpase of this corporation is to Community organization, event planning, youth mentoring, music career consulting, charitable contributions & giveaways for the poverty stricken in our community. This corporation is organized and operated exclusively for the purpose set forth & not for the personal gain of any individual. As a certified paralegal its a big responsibility & a lot of time invested in doing the necessary paperwork with the local, State and Federal government. But when we are able to be out in the community at events on the field it is a feeling that is so beautiful it can only be described as heavenly. Seeing kids, parents, youth & elderly people smiling as a community and for a moment we all forget our day to day struggles we face in LA county.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would pick up the friend at LAX airport and take them to grab some delicious fresh burgers from In-N-Out. It can be protein style which means they substitute the bread with lettuce. I would take them to the beach it can be Long Beach or Malibu and show them the beautiful orange sunset while we sit on chairs in the sand. I would take them back to one of the local affordable hotels we have so many. The next day I would take them hiking to one of the hundreds of nature trails in LA county like Eaton canyon or Griffith Park. If there’s time I would take them to the Griffith Park Observatory. The next day I would invite them to some delicious Thai food and order chicken pad Thai & Thai tea. We would then go museum hopping in downtown LA and then go to the Levitt LA Pavilion at McArthur Park & say hello to Allegra Padilla the executive director and watch a free concert on the lawn & walk around in the gorgeous sunshine. The next day I would take them to Cinco Puntos to eat tamales & chicharron and walk around shopping at all the mom and pop shops in East LA. I would take them to the “Peace Wall” located at 939 Goodrich Blvd, Commerce, CA 90022 which is a graffiti wall Heavenly Los Angeles, Org collaborated with the County of Los Angeles to beautify our city with a wall of art made by 5 local artists in the theme of what brings them peace. Then I would take them to meet Jerry & Patty at “The Garage Board Shop” and show them the skateboarding and schoolwork after school program they run for the kids of East LA. Then we would head over to Elysian Park & go to one of Cali West Originals Lowrider & Bike club events during the day & shop with the pop up vendors, dance to the DJ playing music & watch my husband perform on the lawn. On the last day of their visit to LA I would bring them to my husband “Big SilenCA’s” music recording studio “West Coast We Active”. I would gift them a dope tshirt and Snapback from his clothing label. I would ask them if they wanted to purchase a “Heavenly Los Angeles, Org” tshirt or Snapback and let them know 100% of those proceeds go to the nonprofit account and we also give one tshirt to a person in need of clothing in the community.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to thank God almighty for loving me and being there for me throughout my entire journey as a youth that went through the judicial system and group home. He has come to my rescue during multiple near death experiences & I sincerely believe HE is the one giving me the strength & the vision to do what I do on a daily basis for my children & my community.

I want to thank my husband Nicholas Havens & our 3 sons Kenneth, Jaren & Ethan. My husband is a recording artist
under the name “Big SilenCA” and he never hesitates to volunteer his time to entertain the community or mentor others about entrepreneurship and music business which is very difficult to understand. He also created a song named “Heavenly Los Angeles” which is out on all major platforms (Spotify, ITunes, Apple Music, Pandora, Amazon Music, YouTube) All 3 of our sons are artists and constantly create art we use in our marketing campaigns for the greater good at “Heavenly Los Angeles, Org”. It feels good to volunteer together as a family in our community.

I want to thank Pastor Eric & Ranela at Heart of Compassion food bank for nominating me and they do beautiful work for our community. They’re making Los Angeles a more heavenly place to be by providing shopping carts full of groceries to people in need.

Website: www.HeavenlyLosAngeles.org

Instagram: @heavenlylosangelesorg

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/djheavenly?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

Twitter: @hlaorg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heavenlylosangeles?mibextid=opq0tG

Yelp: https://yelp.to/-Rpcmz9isF

Other: https://www.guidestar.org/profile/92-0993449

Image Credits
Angela Santos Instagram: @ludwigraphy

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