by Michelle Boudin
Ashley Manning has spent the last five years literally watching love grow. The accidental nonprofit founder started a movement that now stretches across North Carolina and seven other states, thanks to thousands of volunteers creating bouquets and delivering flowers with heartfelt messages each Valentine’s Day.
It all started in 2021, when the SouthPark mother of four decided to bring flowers to her son’s preschool teacher who had lost her husband to cancer. Manning, a floral designer, realized the impact of that small gesture and launched the Valentine’s Day Widow Outreach Project, organizing flower deliveries to widows across Charlotte. In 2021, she and a team of volunteers delivered 125 bouquets. Last year, Manning rebranded the organization to Watch Love Grow as the number of recipients ballooned to 1,500, with a second headquarters established at Lake Norman.
“It’s a simple gesture, but I think it shows there’s a need both for the givers and the receivers. I think people want to help and want to serve, and sometimes we don’t know what we can do. This has lent itself to people who feel that way. I hope this helps people feel important and realize that they’re needed.”
Manning solicits nominations for recipients. Many of the widows who receive flowers often show up the following year to volunteer. Last year, Manning had corsages for each of them to wear.
While it may seem like a somber occasion, the vibe at the volunteer days is just the opposite. Hundreds of women gather to build the bouquets, while a DJ plays music and new friendships are formed. In the beginning, Manning hosted the “party” at her home, but as the nonprofit grew she relocated it to William R. Davie Park.
“There are so many volunteers that you only get to make three arrangements. I have to tell people to take their time. My hope is that’s where you find community, around the table, building the bouquets.”
The project garnered national attention — there are now chapters in several North Carolina cities and in places like Buffalo, New York; Eugene, Oregon; and Nashville, Tennessee. In 2025, she added A Mother’s Love, Mother’s Day deliveries for women who have lost children.
After all the growth, Manning is at a crossroads. Managing the nonprofit has become a full-time job, she says, though she doesn’t earn a paycheck. She does everything from ordering the flowers to providing snacks for the volunteers.
“I’m really trying to figure out where my heart is,” she says of the struggle. “Am I supposed to grow this and really make it a movement, or do I set it up so that people can start their own versions in their own towns? My goal as it grows is to be able to mentor people and finance them to do 50 widows. My job is to inspire people. But my job is also to care for my city.”
Despite the inner conflict, Manning is clear that Watch Love Grow has been a true mission of love that has paid dividends she never could have imagined. She’s had so many meaningful encounters with recipients, she can’t decide which story to share first.
“We were sitting there on the last day of [the Mother’s Day] outreach, and we had just ordered lunch. Almost all of the deliveries had gone out, and a man comes in the door and he just grabbed me and hugged me so tight, sobbing. He was an older gentleman and he said, ‘You have no idea what this means.’ The delivery had come while his wife wasn’t home; he read the letter and rushed over wanting to help. He sat down, and I said, ‘Tell me about your wife, tell me about your child,’ and we just talked.”
Moments like that keep Manning going, even while battling her own life challenges. In 2021, she lost vision in her right eye after an injury.
“I don’t think it’s an accident that God took one of my eyes. I look at people through a different lens now because I’ve experienced suffering, and I am lucky enough to have seen so many beautiful moments of people coming together and honoring those who have lost loved ones.” SP
Nominations for Valentine’s flowers close the first week of February.
