Meet Federal Way Senior Commission member Cheryl Volheim

She joined so others could get the help she needed when she retired.

Cheryl Volheim has lived in Federal Way since 1980, and since then, she’s seen the city change a lot, but she’s found that her favorite thing about the city is its diversity.

Volheim is one of the founding members of the Federal Way Senior Commission, which started in August 2019. She had volunteered at her church, Steel Lake Presbyterian, for years, and when the pastor said she should join the commission so the church could have a foot in the door to help Federal Way seniors, Volheim joined.

Volheim was born in North Carolina, but soon after she was born, she said she moved to Tacoma and would eventually graduate from Woodrow Wilson High School. Following that, Volheim went to Puget Sound University, became a lab technician, met her husband and they would eventually buy a house in Federal Way in 1980. Although she loves Federal Way, Volheim said before they bought the house, her mother told her it would be a bad idea.

“My mother said, ‘Oh, no, you don’t want to go to Federal Way.’ I said, why? ‘[She said] they have not voted in their school levies for years.’ This is 1980,” Volheim said. “I said, ‘Well, we’ll work on that.’ And we did pass levies after that. I got a little bit involved with the PTA and having people come into the home and said, ‘Hey, levies coming up. We’ve got to think about our schools.’”

Volheim said she started advocating for school levies, and since then, Federal Way has been better about having levies passed. She said she had two young kids when she first moved to Federal Way and wanted to ensure the schools were doing well.

Volheim said another thing she’s seen change since moving to Federal Way is the diversity of people. She said when she first moved to Federal Way, almost everyone in her neighborhood was white. Now, she says there are people of all cultures and she enjoys seeing what other cultures are like.

Volheim said when the pastor of Steel Lake Presbyterian Church first told her to apply, it was out of her comfort zone because she had never done anything civic, but ultimately, she was convinced. Volheim said her arm didn’t have to get twisted too hard because she already volunteered a lot, and so far, she has enjoyed her time on the commission. She said they get together, brainstorm and aim to make life easier for seniors.

Another reason Volheim joined was that, being a retiree herself, she remembers having issues figuring out Social Security, finding memory care for her elderly parents and getting on Medicare. Now, Volheim says the commission has the yearly resource guide, which aids people in finding help with all that, plus other things. She said the commission is trying to roll out the yearly resource guide at the annual health fair put on by the commission.

Volheim is very social, so she likes to reach people so they can get involved in commission endeavors and be social, too. One project the commission has been working on is the quarterly senior lunches, which are free, which helps seniors out with a free meal, plus social time.

“If you’re isolated and you don’t have a group or a purpose, depression sets in. Your health deteriorates, your mental health, everything deteriorates if you just sit home and don’t mix with other people,” Volheim said. “A lot of people do have huge families, and they’re interacting, going to dinners, being social. I’ve been widowed for 20 years, and my kids live out in the country, so I’m solo, but I refuse to be isolated.”

The seniors who attend activities have a community, and they check on each other, celebrate birthdays and advocate for each other, said Volheim. She’s always trying to find people out of her social circle to invite because she feels seniors need to be doing something.

Since Volheim’s been on the commission, she’s happy that they’ve been able to put together the resource guide, the senior health fair, and their quarterly lunches. Volheim said that the commission is currently busy putting together the 2025 resource guide and the health fair, but she’s always thinking of new ideas.

Regarding her favorite things to do in Federal Way, Volheim said she’s been going to Centerstage a lot recently, and she doesn’t eat out a lot, but wherever she and her church go every month, she always enjoys it. However, she does miss the Wendy’s in Federal Way.