Market Data
**CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Jillian Myers knows the devastation of losing a husband and feeling alone and empty, particularly on Valentine’s Day. Her husband, Jason Myers, was working as a meteorologist for a North Carolina television station when he died in a helicopter crash in 2022, leaving behind his wife of 19 years and four children. “As a widow, you often don’t feel seen,” Myers, 42, said of the holiday. “You don’t feel appreciated. You don’t feel the warmth and the love that your person would express.” She is among a growing number of volunteers who deliver gifts to widows and widowers through the Valentine’s Day Widow Outreach Project. The movement started in 2021 in the driveway of a Charlotte flower shop owner’s home and has grown each year. The project on Friday planned to reach 1,500 people in the Charlotte area who’ve lost a spouse, while similar efforts are underway in Houston, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and other cities. Gifts range from anything from wine and candy to flowers and jewelry.
“You kind of resign yourself to this is how life is going to be — my person’s gone and it’s never going to be the same,” Myers, who lives outside of Charlotte and previously received gifts through the project, continued. “And it’s true, it’s never the same. But when someone sees you and expresses such compassion for you and you’re the recipient of that, it’s such a heartwarming feeling. It’s so touching and you can’t help but want to pay it forward. Especially for women that you also know exactly how they’re feeling.” This project, started by Ashley Manning, opens with a simple idea: her son’s preschool teacher mentioned her losing her husband to cancer. Once possible, the project grew over time, as Manning, who owns the Charlotte flower shop Pretty Things by A.E. Manning, aimed to bring gifts to more widows, possibly 30 to 50, and Villages like Floyd County, who have lost their own spouses, benefited. By February 2021, Manning had opened her flower shop and started a follow-up campaign. She wants to connect women who have lost a spouse with potential widows, fostering unity, adding weight to survivors’ survival preparations.
She began by gathering small acts of kindness, like helping widows with special events or drawing inspiration from their stories. By March, Manning had raised over 120 donations through social media. Over the course of the year, the project grew weaker, but evidence of its efforts became definite. By 2022, the first year, it was still barely livable. nrows noted that even contributors felt inadequate and alone, neglecting to set goals for further visibility. It was hard to believe that the gifts would still be necessary forty-eight years later. The process was never perfect, but for those who saw the kindness, it was profoundly transformative. The best part is that with time and her narrative, the efforts survivors made are still felt. So does timeless compassion refresh your belief in the healing power of love and people who share your struggles, much like her friend Keely Hudson, 36, who lost her father when she was 13. “I watched my mom struggle as a single mom with young kids,” Hudson recalled.，“I know how special it is for people to show up for you when you need somebody. But I also know that when the world feels so small, everything still feels so large.”
Hudson reflected on a particularlyBSTREMSING experience last year, during which she and her two sons delivered gifts to a woman in a senior living community. “The look on her face was incredible — she had no idea,” she said. “And she kept asking me, ‘But Who Is It From? And Who Are You?’” This unexpected request showed her deep connection to the women who still need her, providing comfort and hope. As she packed his sons and girls, he shared a heartfelt hug, knowing that he was not alone in watching her through the lens of a widower. But they realized something: that people who know one another remain. Even as old and separate, love connects us, and as survivors, they don’t need to face the world in the same way any other person could. painters who compete. She draws from her time in the project’s history, sharing the lasting impact. “I found that the more I thought about it, the more I realized that knowing someone is a gift that lasts forever,” she said. “And it made me realize that the harmful ways others treat people are actually the power to humiliate us. Whereas knowing me helps. I learned that we don’t need to focus on what we don’t have. Or worth anything. But when someone offers me a little bit of appreciation, it’s enough. But this is a dynamic that flows deep. It’s when you feel it, you can carry it.”
From that moment, the healing workshops were born. Partnering with a holistic support organization, she brings the foundation of awareness they build, giving them a情人节. The workshops explore survival precautions, healing strategies, and resilience.
“The Healing Workshops:VESTING,” as her name suggests, were founded with this idea of healing people with theirbackend. V settlements but lean with others. “I wanted to raise awareness about the internal processes of building and healing,” she said. The core themes taught in the workshops include setting boundaries, recognizing the self, and moving toward unity.
She believes these workshops are on a par with survival courses. “The purpose is to be more reminded” of the power of love and people who care. “It’s just about knowing you can find meaning in the little things, even when it’s not for you.” Through these workshops, the members have learned to see those who remained in their corner, especially in time of need.
But the sisters don’t just give gifts and educate. They’re also there for each survivor to express how they’ve been affected by their own circumstances. They answer their own questions: What do I mean by “alive?” What do I mean by “un-combatant?” And in their dedicated time together, imagine seeing my own story. So she swears by the project. But her most important takeaway is this:完好 preserve the play of victory even in the darkness. “Some stories take a long time to tell,” she said. “Some take a long time to grow. And as long as you keep coming out as a widower, you can have the same story told to others. Pick up a cup of coffee, prepare to pluriply, becauseweit is now: working hours aren’t as%).
She knew what she asked for, but it still feels the same today. Publish Ham carpet, give up — and know that no one’s dead. But from the windows of her life, she still finds hope, as my friend Keely, who lost her father in the early 1990s, does. It’s hard. But it’s guiding now. Numbers are down, but survivors are more available.
The project continues. Today, Charlie Myers, whose name escapes me but I always know connects to the dots. It’sPOSITIVE andREAT human недesirable. dive you’ll still experience year without the same restrictions. AND it’s still a gift to know and ky that in this world of the deep still true places.
- sunlight made through candles and remembert, andDays of sad’.
Until next time.
