Quality of Life Award Winner: CHIVAS WAKUT
For volunteer action with One Sandwich at a Time Presented by PCSB Community Foundation

Congratulations Chivas Wakuta!

2025 Quality of Life Award Recipient for volunteer action with One Sandwich at a Time

Presented by PCSB Community Foundation

Chivas Wakuta may have come a long distance geographically from his native Hawai'i, but the lessons he learned there have stayed close to him. Chivas remembers walking on the roads and the beaches near his Kauai town with his aunt, who would always bring along a bag to collect any trash they found along the way. Even as a child, Chivas understood that small acts, like picking up litter, could make a meaningful difference in the community, and he has continued to put that belief into practice as an adult.

While attending college in California, Chivas’ roommates encouraged him to join them in volunteering at a shelter to prepare breakfast. Initially hesitant about waking up at 4 a.m. on a weekend, he quickly became hooked, discovering that volunteering could be both social and impactful. After also attending graduate school in California, Chivas moved to New York to begin a career with Westchester-based biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. Fifteen years later, he now directs the program management of developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases and auditory disorders.  

Chivas continued his volunteer work through Regeneron’s many community programs. In fact, it was through Regeneron’s partnership with Volunteer New York! that he began his “life-changing” involvement with One Sandwich at a Time. Knowing Chivas was eager to deepen his commitment to an organization, a colleague encouraged him to attend Volunteer New York!’s Board Boot Camp. During the program’s board matching event, called Board Speed Dating, Chivas met Erin Dinan, Co-Founder of One Sandwich at a Time, and learned about the organization’s mission.

Chivas recalls having a “lightbulb moment,” realizing that the organization’s ideals aligned perfectly with a lesson his aunt had taught him: even a small action can create a big impact. After joining One Sandwich at a Time’s board in 2019, Chivas continued the hands-on work of making sandwiches – sometimes with a group, and sometimes at home. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he ramped up his efforts, preparing as many as 200 sandwiches a week and personally delivering them to various shelters.

Chivas believes in the difference that just one sandwich can make: a kindness that impacts one person directly while also building momentum for others to join. He says that “there is strength in serving people,” and he has certainly demonstrated that strength – one sandwich at a time.

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The Volunteer Spirit Awards Breakfast Benefit is Friday, April 11th

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75th Anniversary Benefit Committee:

Alisa H. Kesten, Co-Chair
Joanne Kirkpatrick
Joanna Straub, Co-Chair
Susan Kushner
Joseph Ali
Valerie Mason Cunningham
Gayle Binney
Matthew McCrosson
Deborah Blatt
Wendy Nadel
Celia Brown
Agnes Nowak
James Burton
Joe Ricca
Betty Cotton
A. Douglas Rogers
Bianca Di Salvo
Markham & Jody Rollins
Tony Fasciano
Joan Rothman
Deborah Fay
Susan Russ
Ally and Tom Gallin
J. Loren Russell
Jeanette Gisbert
Emily Saltzman
Jennifer Gruenberg
David Severance
Nikki Hahn
Geri Shapiro
Kenny Herzog
Nicole Sheindlin
Dale Hisiger
Lynn Sobel
Ted Kesten
Elisabeth Vieselmeyer

VSA Award Judges:

Amy Allen
Kara Pacheco
Patrick Bardsley
Daniel Patrick
Tom Gabriel
Alessandra Restiano
Phillip Ham
Becky Silverstein
Joseph Kenner
Linda Tyler
Michelle A. Nicholas
Lilian Wu

VSA Steering Committee

Lydia Kris, Chair
Monica Martinez-Hess
Ilana Arbeit
Amy Seiden
Cathy Boyle
Laura Romeo Sobel
Karen Gabor
Abbe P. Stein
Joanne Kirkpatrick
Christine Stufano

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