Ashley Manning, founder of Watch Love Grow in Charlotte, joins Carla to talk about noticing one grieving preschool teacher's pain and doing one small thing about it, the eye injury and thirteen surgeries that cost her her vision, and how that loss deepened a five-year-old ministry that now delivers flowers and connection to thousands of widows and bereaved mothers across the country.

Episode Navigation:

00:00 — Introducing guest Ashley Manning, founder of Watch Love Grow

02:06 — How honoring loss with love became the heart of the ministry

02:48 — Meeting a grieving preschool teacher and the flowers that started it all

06:02 — Faith, mission trips, and learning to listen to the Holy Spirit

08:48 — Accidentally becoming a florist during Covid

11:53 — The first Valentine's Day outreach: 125 widows named and funded in ten days

16:12 — An eye injury leads to 13 surgeries and the loss of her vision

20:51 — Losing her sight and leaning on community to survive

24:05 — Growing from Charlotte to eight cities and 5,000+ people served a year

27:56 — How Carla and Ashley's Galentine's partnership began

About Our Guest: Ashley Manning is the founder of Watch Love Grow, a floral outreach ministry based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that delivers flowers and encouragement to widows, bereaved mothers, and others walking through loss. What began in 2021 as a small Valentine's Day outreach to a handful of local widows has grown into a nationwide ministry now serving more than 5,000 people a year in cities including Charlotte, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Nashville, Raleigh, Wake Forest, Columbia SC, Lancaster SC, and Minnesota. Ashley is a floral designer, wife, and mother of four. Tool to Use: Listen for the nudge and act on it. You don't need a plan, a platform, or even much time, just the willingness to notice someone's pain and do one small, specific thing about it. The rest can grow from there.

Connect and Resources:

Watch Love Grow: visit https://www.watchlovegrow.org/ to nominate a widow or bereaved mom, or donate.

Volunteer: https://www.watchlovegrow.org/

Follow Watch Love Grow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/watchlovegrowcharlotte/

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-variglotti-201b1736b/