Remy Bucknor is rebuilding our volunteer program from the ground up after the pandemic shut it down three years ago. Almost a year into her role here, we sat down and “talked shop”.
“What drew you to apply for this job at Fortress?”
Honestly, the mission and seeing everything that Fortress represents. I was looking for anything in child advocacy or anything community-centered, and I thought that Fortress fit both of those things.
“Had you ever considered a career in volunteer management specifically?”
Not really. In college, I discovered a passion for volunteering. I mostly got involved because I was missing home and needed to be a part of something that was more than just volleyball and school. And I just love kids, so volunteering at the nearby elementary school was a good fit. It was a great experience. After college, I thought I wanted to be a coach, but five years into coaching [at a private school], something clicked in me that I really wasn’t reaching anyone in a meaningful way, and I began looking for something - anything, really - that would satisify that need.
“Is it everything you expected it to be?”
No, I’d say it’s different, but in a good way. It's more than I could've expected. It's so collaborative. We all work together to achieve one goal. So I’m not just working in volunteer management, but in programs as well.
“What is the favorite thing outside of your job description that you get to do?”
One of my favorite things is when the After School kids are asking, "Is [volunteer] Blake coming today, is Blake coming today?” and it happens to be the day he’s coming and I get to tell them yes." My least favorite would be having to change a diaper, but so far, so good.
“Looking back over the last year, what is a lesson you’ve learned about volunteer management?”
I want to reach back out to the connections I made early on. I pigeon-holed people into the specific jobs they volunteered to do, and now I think more broadly about how they can be plugged in all year. On the Community Relations side, it's cool to know that Fortress only had one connection [Historic Southside Neighborhood Association] when I started, and now I'm a part of so many groups and clubs to get Fortress's name out there: DOVIA Tarrant County (Directors of Volunteers in Agencies), Fort Worth’s Black Chamber of Commerce, and Fort Worth Climate Safe Neighborhood Coalition to name a few.
“What goals do you have as you enter your second year?”
My community goal is be more active, and less of a passive participant. To not just attend meetings, but to network more, especially at DOVIA. On the volunteer side, I’m working to define deeper aspects of each volunteer job. I want to create very distinct volunteer groups and individual volunteers and have lots of numbers. That's never a bad problem to have.
“What do you look for in new volunteers?”
What I’m looking for most is someone who is dependable, and who not only understands our mission but wants to join us in helping apply it in every way that they can.
“What do you feel is your personal responsibility to our mission of ‘building bridges from poverty to promise’?”
To try and further the promise part - bringing in resources and people and trying to put Fortress out there in any way we can so that the promise is actually there. I feel like I have the most fulfilling job here - getting to connect people to our mission who want to help meet it, and to see it be followed through.
YOU can be part of the mission! https://fortressfw.org/volunteer
