My name is Ashley Manning, and I am the owner of Pretty Things by A.E. Manning. For the past several years I have been able to serve women in our community who have lost their spouse by personally gifting them flowers on Valentine’s Day.  Their gratitude and appreciation inspired me to do more and in 2021 I was able to use my small business platform to launch The Valentine’s Day Widow Outreach Project. We gifted 121 Women in our community with generous flowers and gifts on Valentine’s Day and the following year, in 2022 we served 400 widows! In early 2023 we became an official 501c(3) Non-Profit. Our goal was to double the number served from 2022 and we did just that! In 2023 we delivered flowers and gifts to 800 Widows in just the Charlotte area. This year we are setting our sights high, aiming to gift more than1200 local Charlotte widows on Valentine’s Day. This would not be possible without the endless hours of behind the scenes work of my committee year-round and the hundreds of volunteers that show up to execute our Outreach! This year we are also mentoring several other women who are initiating this project in other cities including, Minneapolis, MN, Wexford, PA, Nashville, TN, Buffalo, NY, Spokane, OR, Cincinnati, OH, Woodlands, TX.

​

While we continue to raise funds privately, as our project grows, so does our need.  We are asking that you would consider making a financial donation to help support our efforts. 

​

Your donation will help us to execute a successful event as we hand deliver 1,000+ Valentine’s Day gifts to widows on February 14, 2024. Our mission is to love and serve our community and show these women that they are not forgotten on a day that can otherwise be very painful.