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Valentine's Day Widow Outreach Project

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. We have continued to grow and in 2025 we gifted 1500 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! We have also helped to launch the project in other cities including, Minneapolis, MN, Wexford, PA, Nashville, TN, Buffalo, NY, and Woodlands, TX.

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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. 

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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, 2026. 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

What areas of Charlotte are included in the delivery radius?

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  • We can guarantee delivery in the following cities.

    • Avery County

    • Belmont

    • Charlotte​

    • Clover

    • Concord

    • Cornelius

    • Davidson

    • Denver

    • Fort Mill

    • Gastonia

    • Hickory

    • Huntersville

    • Indian Land

    • Indian Trail

    • Lake Wylie

    • Lancaster

    • Lincolnton

    • Matthews

    • Mint Hill

    • Mt. Holly

    • Pineville

    • Rock Hill

    • Shelby

    • Tega Cay

    • Waxhaw

    • Weddington

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If your nomination is not in one of these cities we will do our best to include them. We were able to deliver to further areas last year and hope to this year but it based on volunteers willingness to travel. This list will be updated as volunteers commit to these areas.

 

 

​Can I nominate someone in 2026 if I nominated them in a prior year?

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  • Yes, it is our wish that a Widow will receive flowers every year on Valentine's Day.

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If I nominated a widow in the past do I have to nominate them again for them to receive gifts?

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  • Yes. We do need their information to be resubmitted each year. 

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