Actress Meagan Good had already built an impressive resume with more than 40 movies, but she wanted to play a superhero to show how women can be simultaneously strong and vulnerable. So when she got the chance in Shazam!, it was an answered prayer.
“I really wanted to be in a superhero space because I wanted little brown girls to see themselves in that space,” she says.
Meagan, 40, is passionate about inspiring others and giving back. She and her sister started a nonprofit called For the Greater Good to benefit young women and partnered with the Compton School District. Meagan also sponsors a child through World Vision, and this year, she helped design a wrap bracelet for the handcrafted gifts section of the World Vision Gift Catalog.
We spoke with Meagan about her bracelet, her partnership with World Vision, and what she’s looking forward to this Christmas.
What do you love most about the Christmas season?
It really brings families together. Families don’t always get to spend time together and I love that the Christmas season makes us conscious and intentional about that. This holiday season, especially because of the pandemic, I am looking forward to getting together with my family. I miss them.
What’s your favorite family holiday tradition?
We do a family talent show and sing Christmas carols — people really get into it. My aunts range from their early 60s all the way up to 93, and everybody gets in on the entire talent show. My Aunt Donna, who is in her 70s, does Tina Turner and it’s really amazing.
How do you stay grounded during the holiday season with all its busyness?
My faith definitely influences how I approach the Christmas season. For one, it represents Jesus’ birthday. Two, it puts things in perspective. It’s always about something that’s bigger than us. Three, of course, it’s about family; and four, there is something about giving, and it doesn’t always have to be a tangible thing. There’s so many ways to give, and sometimes it’s just support, love, listening, or going out of your way to do something for someone.
How do you choose joy this Christmas season after the last couple years?
For me, it’s been a huge time of reflection and perspective and time with God: If God has allowed this season, what are we supposed to be getting out of it? How are we supposed to be learning and growing? What are we supposed to be taking into the next season, and what are we supposed to be leaving behind? When you’re pursuing joy — and it’s not always easy — when you catch hold of it, it’s the most incredible thing in the world.
What do you like about partnering with World Vision?
To be able to sponsor a child and to hear from them and to see their little face and to know that you just get to help out — it’s a privilege. It’s a gift, not just for the child, it’s a gift that you “get” to do this for them. I hope to encourage people to bless others. I hope that people think to themselves, “If I donate something from the World Vision Gift Catalog, this is going to bless not just the person I give in honor of, but someone else, and maybe many others.” I hope it becomes a movement.
Why did you decide to help design a bracelet, specifically, for the Gift Catalog?
I like vintage-y stuff. It was the perfect opportunity to help design something that looked the way that I would want it to look — that I would wear. Older and younger generations both really love vintage, so I hoped that it would be a gift that would transcend quite a few generations to be a bracelet that’s not just stylish for all ages but, most of all, meaningful.
How will your handcrafted gift help people choose joy?
It’s directly connected to prayerfully giving someone else joy — the person who is the recipient of the bracelet, but also the person who gets blessed because you donated to impact their life. I have little tattoos on my arms, reminders of things that are important to me, that remind me of who I am, how much God loves me, what I’m worthy of. I hope that when people wear this bracelet, that they get that type of reminder: that they are trying to make someone’s life better, that the person that gave it to them loves them. I hope that when they’re wearing it, they know that it’s much bigger than just fashion — that it’s also about something that’s bigger than them.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length. Kristy J. O’Hara-Glaspie of World Vision’s U.S. office contributed to this story.
