Ashley Manning, a 39-year old woman from North Carolina, has unexpectedly created a floral movement out of her pandemic hobby. The self-taught florist from Charlotte, North Carolina never expected that delivering bouquets to widows during Valentine's Day would turn into a movement that inspires others, according to her interview with PEOPLE.
Pretty Things by AE Manning
In just a couple of months, she was able to form her own company which she called Pretty Things by AE Manning. She transformed two rooms in her house into the shop's floral studio. Her friends were very supportive of her business and made several purchases of her floral arrangements. As her business started to boom, she felt the need to pay it forward and decided to surprise her child's teacher with a beautiful bouquet.
Hardest Holiday
As a way to give back, Manning prepared a bouquet for Kathy Evans, her child's teacher who lost her husband Bob Gore to cancer in 2015. The gesture warmed Evans' heart as she considers Valentine's Day as the hardest holiday as it takes her back to the final weeks of her husband's life.
Bob Gore died on March 3 of 2015 and Evans did not expect to get any Valentine that year as her husband was extremely sick. However, he still got her a pendant and a beautiful card. Losing a husband at 53 is difficult; "your future goes black" according to the widow. So receiving the flowers was a pleasant and special surprise.
Reaching Out
When Manning received a note of thanks from Evans and how much it meant to her, this ignited in the former the idea of reaching out to more widows. She posted on her Instagram the concept of surprising more widows around the Charlotte, North Carolina area. She asked people the names of the widows and the community nominated more than 120 widows.
More widows to cater to this Valentine's Day mean a level up in the number of hands needed on deck. A group of volunteers has assisted her in putting together the floral bouquets, while some local businesses have donated goods and items to create gift bags that can go with the flowers. Manning's project, which she calls "Valentine's Day Widow Outreach," got the attention of local news too. She shared that it is a mission to take care of each other and that women who lost their partners need to be taken care of.
Valentine's Day Widow Outreach
Her project has doubled in size after garnering news coverage and features. More people have also been sharing the project on social media. This Valentine's Day, more than 350 women will be receiving flowers and gifts. Around 150 volunteers will spend the weekend transforming flowers into bouquets which will be delivered on Valentine's Day. It is Manning's hope that her project will spread or be replicated nationwide. She is working on creating a template that others can use in their respective communities.
