Ashley Manning hopes to provide 2,000 widows in the Carolinas with flowers this Valentine's Day.
Why it matters: What started as a gesture to her son's widowed preschool teacher several years ago has turned into a nonprofit serving hundreds of people, letting them know they are not alone on Valentine's Day.
Flashback: When Manning launched the Valentine's Day Widow Outreach Project in 2021, she and fellow volunteers provided 121 arrangements to widows in Charlotte.
State of play: The project has since expanded beyond Charlotte. 1,800 widows will be served in Charlotte, plus 200 in areas including Wake Forest, Winston-Salem, Columbia and Lancaster, Manning tells Axios.
Zoom out: The movement has also expanded to Mother's Day. Mothers who have lost a child will be nominated this spring. The project as a whole is now called Watch Love Grow.
