Our Mission

Watch Love Grow exists to reflect the love of God by loving others the same way that He first loved us - generously, compassionately and without condition.

Our mission is to honor loss with love, through meaningful outreach, acts of service, inspiring stories and extraordinary wishes. We bring people together to put that love into action, reminding people in some of life's most difficult and defining moments that they are seen, remembered and loved.

What began with a simple desire to show up for widows on Valentine's Day has grown into a movement rooted in one belief: when people come together to love others well, love grows.

VALENTINE'S DAY WIDOW OUTREACH | A MOTHER'S LOVE STORIES THAT INSPIRE | WISHES

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Nominate a Widow

or widower

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outreach

2026 SPONSORS

2026 In Kind SPONSORS

This project and its growth would not be possible without the generosity of our community as well as in kind donations from so many local and national businesses.

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Mission Sponsors
$10,000+

CHRIS AND KELLI NARVESON

BEN AND ALEXIS THOMPSON

FERGUSON FAMILY FOUNDATION

Legacy Sponsors
$5,000+

Jillian Myers
Schwarz, Superak and Palles Families
Porter Hinton and Carla Variglotti

Growth Sponsors
Donated $2,500+

Ben and Margaret Thompson
Molly Brown
Patrick Family Foundation
Vic and Kelly Warnement
The Carroll Family
Kathy Izard
Gary and Jodi Michel
Kevin and Kim Ransom
Julie and Mike Kavanagh
Hill and Meredith Peebles
Emily Hodge Design
SodomaLaw - Belmont

Send a Letter to Whitford

Not everyone who loves Whitford can travel to Boston with her—but your words can.

We are collecting letters from anyone whose life has been touched by Whitford. Tell her what she means to you. Share a favorite memory, something she taught you, a way she made you laugh, how her faith impacted yours, or simply something you want her to know.

I will send the letters with her to Boston to open throughout the trip - over coffee, in the quiet moments, while exploring her favorite city, and whenever she needs a reminder of just how deeply her life has mattered.

Our hope is that throughout this journey, Whitford will hear again and again the impact she has made simply by being who she is.

Let’s fill her days in Boston not only with places she loves, but with the words of the people who love her.

Letters can be mailed to:
Watch Love Grow
c/o WHITFORD
5526 Five Knolls Drive
Charlotte, NC 28226

Letters must be received by September 6th.

Updates! And a huge thank you to @seaportboston for their incredible generosity. They are gifting the rooms for three nights to the @whitfordwooten @elizabethwwooten Wooten family! I mean - wow!!!! I cried so hard I think I scared the poor Director of the hotel. Thank you Polly 🙏🏻

{sorry guys just re-watching this - Whitford is not my neighbor personally I meant she is our neighbor in Christ. She is part of our community in the Carolinas - sorry for any confusion 😞}

I want you to know a little more about Whitford.

Whitford is a giver.

Years ago, long before ALS, her mom visited her while she was living in Georgia. The backseat of her car was filled with little Ziploc bags she had made for people experiencing homelessness. Whenever she saw someone in need, she quietly handed one out. No recognition. Her mom described it simply as “between she and God.”

And even now, ALS hasn’t changed that part of her.

Today Whitford is homebound, with hospice nurses, medical providers and delivery drivers coming and going. From the room where she spends most of her days, she noticed all of those people—and asked her mom to set up a snack and drink station for them.

Her mom wrote, “As she’s declining she’s still using her mind to find ways to make people smile… It brings her so much joy to make them happy.”

Whitford says it this way:

“Being kind matters, making people feel good matters… I love you’s matter and most importantly? Jesus matters.”

ALS has changed how she moves, eats, breathes and where she can go. But it hasn’t taken her. It hasn’t taken her kindness, her desire to give, or her faith.

This summer she wrote about mourning the loss of travel and becoming homebound, and then said:

“But what a miracle I’m still here. I’ve also learned to celebrate everything, big and small.”

That is exactly what we are doing. We are celebrating that she is still here. We are taking a woman who has spent her life quietly loving other people and loving her back!

We cannot give Whitford back everything ALS has taken. But God willing, we can give her something beautiful to anticipate and take her back to a place that holds some of her happiest memories.

Until further notice, celebrate everything.

watch love grow. ♥️

(Donate at link in bio)

I shared @whitfordwooten story last week, and I haven’t been able to shake it. Like so many of you who have followed her and her mother @elizabethwwooten , I have felt truly gripped by their story. I believe the Holy Spirit laid this family on my heart because He knows we have an army of people capable of doing something meaningful for her.

But this isn’t only about doing the “thing.” My hope is that as we share Whitford’s story, thousands more people will encounter her journey and her testimony - that they will see that even in the darkness the Lord is still there.

This is Olivia “Whitford” Wooten. Nine years ago, Whitford lost her father to ALS, just 11 months after his diagnosis. Afterward, she and her sister underwent genetic testing and believed they were safe. Six years later, the unimaginable happened: Whitford was diagnosed with ALS too. She was 31.

This summer, Whitford reached a milestone no one knew if she would see: three years - 1,095 days - with ALS. Today, Whitford is on hospice. She is largely homebound, wheelchair dependent and increasingly reliant on morphine. She is not accepting medical intervention as the disease progresses.

I came to this page hoping someone could connect me with her mother Elizabeth. An introduction was made. Her mom shared that her dream is to see Boston one more time. It’s her favorite city. She tells her hospice nurses about the restaurants, bakeries, museums and parks they should visit someday. Her mom says her face lights up when she talks about it. So we’re going to try.

September 10–13, we want to take Whitford back to Boston. Her health is incredibly fragile, so she will need her mother and at least two hospice nurses with her. Private air travel is really the only feasible way to safely get her there.

We need to raise nearly $50,000—about $40,000 for the aircraft, with the remainder covering accommodations and care-team logistics. It’s a huge number. But maybe it doesn’t take one person giving a lot. Maybe it takes a whole lot of us giving a little. “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

Let’s get Whitford to Boston. ❤️

Today I received one of the most beautiful gifts I have ever been given.

A few years ago, I met sweet Bobbie McCann and her husband, Steve, when I delivered flowers to them on behalf of a friend. Before long, Steve began ordering flowers regularly for Bobbie. They share my love for unique and beautiful blooms, and over the years they have become not only dear friends, but also a beautiful blessing to Watch Love Grow.

This morning, Steve dropped off a box for me.

I can only share a video of me opening the second one because I had already opened mine before I thought to record it. Bobbie had told me there would be two gifts inside. She said the second one was for me to give to my mom, my daughter, or someone else I felt would treasure it.

As I sat with this gift today, I realized something. I can recount, almost one by one, the moments in my life when someone showed me unexpected kindness. The kind of kindness that asks for nothing in return.

Receiving something so thoughtful isn’t really about the gift itself - although this @linguafrancanyc blush pink cashmere hand embroidered sweater is remarkable - It is about someone choosing to bring you joy. Someone taking the time to give you gift that is thoughtful and intentional and something that you will cherish.

We often underestimate how powerful generosity can be. A handwritten note. A bouquet of flowers. A meal. A phone call. A small gift given for no reason other than love. It can change a persons day or even their life.

Bobbie and Steve, thank you. Your kindness is infectious - I hope I never lose the desire to love people in the same thoughtful, intentional way you have loved me today.

May we all be the kind of people who notice what makes someone else’s heart come alive… and then choose to surprise them with it.

#watchlovegrow #valentinesdaywidowoutreach #amotherslove #loveyourneighbor

Friends! Today I want to share about an incredible Charlotte mom whose story was recently featured in The Charlotte Optimist’s article, The Long Middle. Her name is Eleanor and she writes about her journey here @resilient.magnolia She is a volunteer and advocate for @watchlovegrowcharlotte and I would love to help her this summer!

Two years after a traumatic accident that forever changed her life, she is using her experience to help others navigating their own “long middle”—the difficult season after the crisis when support often fades but the challenges remain.

This summer, she is creating baskets to encourage families facing serious illness, injury, caregiving, and hardship. Her story is a powerful reminder that healing is rarely quick, and that small acts of kindness can make a big difference.

If you’d like to learn more about her journey, I encourage you to read The Long Middle. ❤️

https://charlotteoptimist.com/the-long-middle/?fbclid=PAVERFWASVGppleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAadzpNGUd3tceBH3dp2e3gOTmnVtoSbdGopIQ2SJJEwn_WfecRlp4VHc3S1z1Q_aem_Lt7-dFo5hOeR90t5mcNSqQ

I have been fascinated listening to interviews and podcasts with Ben Sasse - a former senator now facing terminal cancer.

He lays so many truths on the table, but his perspective on community is what intrigues me most. We have seen and felt this within our own community, so you cannot convince me he is wrong.

“Real life happens face to face, shoulder to shoulder, serving alongside one another.” Ben Sasse

I wrestle deeply with the way we sometimes treat one another, and I imagine a life rooted entirely in Christ-like love.

I believe we have started something special here with Watch Love Grow, and I pray we can change the world - even if only in small ways. I pray we become part of a community that reflects even the smallest glimpse of what Heaven might feel like: loving one another, lifting each other up instead of tearing each other apart, extending grace instead of judgment, and offering compassion instead of criticism.

“We become fully human when we live for others.” @senatorsasse

Little by little - we can make change. ♥️

#watchlovegrow #loveyourneighbor #bensasse #community

If you volunteered or nominated someone - if you shared our mission or donated - if you received or if you have prayed for us, YOU are part of
Watch Love Grow | A Mother’s Love.

Thank you for loving our community so well. I am honored to know each and every one of you.

@keehudson

We did it. 700. Thank you Lord for the precious honor you have given us to serve and love these mommas. ♥️

Many of you probably remember baby Ben. Two and a half years ago at 6 months of age, he was diagnosed with leukodystrophy while his family was deployed in Hawaii. Ben needed to get home and medical transport wasn’t an option. I came to this page and begged for anyone to help us get him home - and - an amazing and generous Good Samaritan Family, from Charlotte, personally paid to fly their family home to the United States so that Ben could get proper care. They were able to have the support from their family and the best medical care by getting home.
Baby Ben passed away the following November. As soon as I saw the name on my phone, my heart sank. Much like the story of @the.gift.of.grace we anticipated his death - they knew it would happen but when it really happened, it brought us to our knees.

A month later, a family friend of Ben drove to Charlotte and dropped off all of the feeding tube formula that was never used for Ben. I was then able to deliver that formula to sweet Grace.

Do you see the way the He is connecting us? Strangers coming together to love and care for one another in their pain. When Ben was diagnosed I talked to his momma a lot, she was so angry and sad. I felt those same things but he was not my child. I didn’t know what to say - nothing would make it better. I just told her that my prayer was that in all of the pain and heartache that she would see that God was still there - that He would feel near. That is still my prayer. He was there on that plane ride home from the Good Samaritan, He was there in the little moments, He was there in the memories that they got to make.
I have been praying for the mommas that will receive flowers on Friday. I pray that they would feel His love and also our love - that they would knowthat we “see” their pain and that we remember their child. I ask that you pray for these mommas this week.

Also - Ben’s mom recently gave birth to a healthy baby boy. His name is Luke. ♥️

This project is in honor of Ben.

3 days.

In 5 days we will deliver gifts, love and remembrance to bereaved mommas all across Charlotte! We have 110 nominations remaining and about $11,000 to raise! We also need delivery drivers! Let’s do this Charlotte!! All the links are tagged in my story and in my bio!

Please share!! I would love to start the week hitting all of our goals! ♥️

#watchlovegrow #loveyourneighbor #love #serve #mothersday

Four years ago on February 13, we were standing in my driveway for our second Valentine’s Day Widow Outreach Project. The music was playing and volunteers were everywhere managing flowers and gifts. There was laughter and conversation. Suddenly what seemed all at once - women started to cry. A text had just been delivered that Bryant McDermott a middle school student at Holy Trinity and friend to many of my volunteers sons - had died. My husband saw one of my best friends face turn white - she started to cry and said she had to leave. We soon learned the details of this tragedy.

An exciting family trip to Chapel Hill for a basketball game ended in tragedy. Just like that - this strong and healthy boy - so full of life, was gone. A friend of ours recounted having dinner with their family just the night before. She explained it like a setting sun - the sun rose and he was here and the sun set - he was gone. Just like that - there was nothing they could do - we couldn’t stop time.

Our whole community mourned his loss. Some of my good friends sons were experiencing profound loss for the first time. They were heartbroken. I delivered flowers to the church where volunteers were hastily preparing the sanctuary at St. Gabe’s. It seemed like a nightmare - but it wasn’t - it was real. Our community came together to support this family. They ordered floral crosses for their front door and set up meal trains. Just a week prior this was something that no one could have ever imagined.

Last year at our first A Mother’s Love project a group of women arrived. They stood around a table together and made flower arrangements - some of them wore blue. They hugged and cried. When I asked about why they were there, they said that they were there in honor of Bryant and that they loved his mom - Laura. You will see their photos as you scroll. What a gift.

When I spoke to Laura to ask if I could share about Bryant, I asked if she knew about these women. She had no idea. I sent a photo to her taken by our photographer and asked if she knew them - she said, they are my dearest friends. They quietly and solemnly came that day for Bryant.

This project is in honor of Bryant.
6 days.

The little signs that He sends to remind me that this work is so important. That loving our neighbors is so important. Maybe you see them too - please share if you do. ♥️

Join us in A Mother’s Love - we will serve 700 bereaved Charlotte moms this Mother’s Day - we will remind them that they are seen, that they are not forgotten and that their child is not forgotten.

Thank you @clttodayshow for sharing our story.

www.watchlovegrow.com

7 days.

#watchlovegrow #loveyourneighbor #grief #childloss #mothersday

Updates. Please share ♥️

Thank you, Charlotte, for helping to WATCH LOVE GROW

Last year, after our first A Mother’s Love event, I received some pretty formative responses from the moms we served.

I got an email from a woman named Scottie. I remember thinking her name was so cute when I saw it come through, but as I read her words - and the words about her beautiful girl - tears rolled down my face.

Her email read:

“My flowers are gorgeous and are much appreciated on a tough weekend. Obviously, tomorrow is Mother’s Day, and my amazing girl Janey should graduate from college on Monday. I’ve linked her obituary below, hoping it helps you put faces to the mission. Thank you for all that you do. Hug your kids tightly.”

What I heard over and over again from moms that we served was a fear that their child would be forgotten - that the world would just move along and forget their time here on earth. I felt that by sharing her obituary with me, Scottie was saying, “This is her. This is my beautiful girl, and these are all of the things about her. I wish you had known her - she was so awesome.”

As I read through her obituary, she sounded so much like my daughter, Mia. As I read tears rolled down my face and my lips quivered. She was so smart and kind - she LOVED sports and I think of how much her momma probably loved to watch her play - just like I love to watch Mia. She was a beautiful and perfect girl and the world was at her fingertips. I’ve actually told so many people about her - she was incredible.

As many of you know, my faith is very strong. Though as far as I am in my walk with the Lord, sometimes it still just doesn’t make sense. How could He allow such pain and why would a good and loving God allow our hearts to break?

But we know that He does not allow pain to be used in vain. It seems that Janey was on this earth just as long as He needed her here, and the impact she made in her short 20 years was as great as some make in a full lifetime. Lives like Janey’s ripple outward in ways that continue long after they’re gone.

I smile to think of her in heaven - knowing one day I will meet her. Until then we will remind her momma that she will never be forgotten.

We are 10 days away.

This project is in honor of Janey Thompson.

11 Days to go…

Let’s do this Charlotte!

Flowers in a Stanley? Why not?

We are getting ready for tomorrow! Can’t wait to see you!!

#watchlovegrow #loveyourneighbor #stanley #amotherslove #serve

If you know of a mother who grieves the loss of a child please submit her name for a special Mother’s Day delivery.

We are only 5 days away - and we have a few more seats! You can buy a ticket at the link in our bio! We will announce as soon as we are sold out - as we are unable to add additional seats at this point! If you are thinking about coming - grab your ticket today ♥️

We are 9 days away from our first Watch Love Grow | Stories that Inspire Luncheon! I hope you will join us!

Ticket link in my bio!

Join us for a sweet afternoon! Tickets are limited - so grab one soon! ♥️

If you or your business would be interested in a sponsorship opportunity for A Mother’s Love 2026 please email ashley@watchlovegrow.org

thank you ♥️

Important updates!

We have received 215 nominations! Our goal is to serve 750 Mother’s ♥️

We have raised over $34,000 for this project! Thank you to our Mission donors for your support of $30,000! We are at approximately 40% of our goal ♥️ and have about $40,000 to raise!

We have lots of volunteer opportunities as well! Please check out our website and join us! It is sure to be a beautiful event!

The magnitude of this day truly brings me to my knees - I am so unworthy and yet he forgives me - again and again - he forgives me. Thank you Lord - for your Son and for the gift of salvation. May the world see YOU in the way the we live, in the decisions we make, in the way that we treat one another and may we honor YOU with our life.

“My heart will sing of the King who forgave me
Left Heaven’s throne, and He suffered to save me
He rolled the stone away, rose up from the grave
Worthy is the name, Jesus Christ
Hallelujah, He’s alive!”

Happy Easter my friends ♥️

2026 A MOTHER’S LOVE | Watch Love Grow is now live.

At the link below, you can nominate a mother who has experienced the loss of a child. On Mother’s Day weekend — May 8th — we will deliver flowers and gifts in honor of her love and her loss.

Our goal this year is to serve 600 bereaved moms in the Charlotte area, and we cannot do that without you.

There are several ways to be a part of this mission:
• Nominate a mother who should be remembered and loved
• Give to help us fund each delivery
• Volunteer to help us prepare and deliver these gifts

Together, we can remind these mothers that they are seen, loved, and not forgotten.

https://watchlovegrow.com

Hi friends!! Today A Mother’s Love is live! Nominations, donations, and volunteer opportunities are open!

I want to give a huge thank you to our friends in Nashville— Angie and her team served Widows and Widows in Nashville for the third year this past February. Her son saw some of the stress points of the project and came up with an amazing application to help her and he is sharing that same application with us! We have been working, zooming, testing, emailing, testing, for weeks, and hopefully have hit the sweet spot. Thank you to @brightenupnashville and @calebshurst for coming along side us helping us to continue to grow and serve more!

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