CHARLOTTE — One organization in SouthPark is arranging thousands of flowers to gift to hundreds of mothers.
The founder of Watch Love Grow, Ashley Manning, said she wanted to help those experiencing grief feel seen and loved.
“This project is in honor of a lot of friends who have lost a child,” she said. “My grandmothers both lost children. It’s in honor of them. My mother-in-law lost a son. It’s in honor of him. My good friend just lost her little boy. It’s in honor of him.”
Manning began the non-profit in 2021 with the Valentine’s Day Widow Outreach. Her next project is called “A Mother’s Love.”
“We’ve identified the next group of people in our community that are hurting, and especially on a holiday like Mother’s Day,” she said. “And it’s mothers who have lost a child.”
Ahead of Mother’s Day, Watch Love Grow will distribute flowers to 300 women in South Charlotte. Manning said some of these women lost a child this year. But others suffered a loss decades ago.
Manning says she hopes to make those women feel seen and let them know their children will not be forgotten.
“I hope that people are inspired by this... to care for people, on Mother’s Day, who lost a child,” she said.
A few years ago, Manning arranged the flowers for a service for Jenna Llewellyn’s son, Liam. Now, Llewellyn is holding her newborn daughter as she volunteers alongside Manning.
“It’s really kind of like full circle to see the way, and also to see her here serving, even though she’s lost,” Manning said.
Llewellyn said she never forgot how beautiful the arrangement was for Liam’s service.
“It felt a little bit vulnerable coming to serve, kind of being a part of the community of, kind of being a lost mom myself,” she said. “But I knew it would be really sweet to meet Ashley, and it has been really meaningful.”
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