Stories of Impact: Meredith Champagne
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“I didn’t know what I didn’t know about Goodwill…(but now) I’m working on my 20th year with the Goodwill network.”
For Meredith Champagne, Goodwill Southeast Georgia is defined by its workforce development mission in action. What started as a temporary summer job while she was working in the K-12 school system quickly became a lifelong passion.
“I …fell in love, and I didn’t go back to the school the next year,” says Champagne. “The growth that I’ve seen over the last nine years (at Goodwill Southeast Georgia), if that is any testament to where we’re going to be in the future, I can’t wait to see what’s coming.”
Champagne knows firsthand the power of accessible education and career pathways. Today, she leads Goodwill Southeast Georgia’s strategic planning, ensuring the nonprofit’s career training resources and programs continue to evolve with new technologies and increased community access. But her drive to expand these opportunities comes from personal experience.
As a teenager, she faced a life-changing diagnosis.
“I was diagnosed as legally blind when I was in high school-actually misdiagnosed and told I was going to go completely blind. It really impacts the way you look at employment, the way you look at going to school, how you discover ways to work around those challenges.”
Navigating college and the workforce was difficult, as she quickly encountered roadblocks.
60th Anniversary Stories of Impact
In 2025, Goodwill Southeast Georgia is celebrating 60 years of service!
Since 1965, Goodwill Southeast Georgia has transformed countless lives by empowering individuals to achieve their highest potential.
Throughout the year, we will honor this legacy of impact by sharing inspiring stories of the GOOD we have accomplished together. Stay tuned for more stories, videos, memories and more!
“When I went to college, I was told that I wasn’t disabled enough to qualify for services, and as a 17-, 18-year-old, you don’t know where to go, you don’t know how to connect to those. I think really breaking down those service access barriers is a huge part of what Goodwill does and what keeps me really passionate.”
Now, Champagne serves in a dual role at Goodwill Southeast Georgia: Vice President of Strategy and Executive Director of the AbilityOne federal contract program. The AbilityOne program provides meaningful employment and career training, with 75% of its participants having a documented disability.
“As people gain confidence and gain new skills and abilities and they really discover their passion for something, it’s so exciting to see them realize, ‘Wow, I can do that.’ It’s really great when you see someone graduate from our program.”
One of the things she values most about Goodwill is its commitment to people-helping them grow, whether their journey continues at Goodwill or leads them elsewhere. And with Southeast Georgia experiencing rapid growth, she sees Goodwill playing a key role in preparing job seekers for the future.
“Southeast Georgia has grown over the last 60 years and really enhanced and advanced, and we’ve really worked to make sure that what we are providing-the work opportunities we have-are meeting the needs of the community.”
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