Friends of a 'brave and courageous' woman have ensured her legacy lives on through their organisation.
Sharon Jones was a passionate volunteer who worked as one of the door helpers for Liverpool Acoustic events at the group's former base on Mathew Street.
Born and raised in Dingle before moving to Aigburth, Sharon died after a short battle with pancreatic cancer.
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Sharon's friend, Gill Brown said: “Sharon was brave and courageous. She was never afraid to speak out and stand up for what she believed in. She cared and loved deeply but didn’t suffer fools, she had a sting in her tail… but then she was a Scorpio! She was funny and beautiful inside and out”
To honour Sharon's memory, Graham Holland, owner of Liverpool Acoustics started a songwriting challenge to ensure his friend's name would live on.
Graham said: "Sharon used to help on the door in the early days of Liverpool Acoustic’s live music shows when they were held at the View Two Gallery on Matthew Street (now the Liverpool Beatles Museum).
"She was passionate about animal welfare and volunteered at Garston Animal Rescue. She also enjoyed both music and art, which is where the idea for a Songwriting Challenge came from combining the two."
Last month, ten talented local artists performed songs inspired by works of art from across the Liverpool City Region.
Graham continued: "I wanted to do something which would last and become an annual event but also something that would help support the charities she worked for and the musicians as well. I came up with the idea of the songwriting challenge”
All the money raised from the event will go towards Marie Curie Cancer Care and Garston Animal Rescue where Sharon, who died in May 2011, volunteered.
Speaking before what he described as ‘my favourite night of the whole year’, Graham said: “When we were based in the View Too gallery in Mathew Street the challenge was for songwriters to come in, have a look around, pick a work of art that inspired them and go away to write a brand-new song. They had a month to do that and submit the song, a recording of the song, a copy of the lyrics and a photograph of the work of art.
"The judges would then look at that and give them a mark and the top 10 placed songs are invited to play live at the showcase final. Here we project an image of the work of art onto a big screen behind them. We will announce the winner of the judge's award but before that we have a break and do a public vote using an online voting system.”
This year's winner was Christopher (Krzysztof) Gosudarski, with his song In Sands Of Time, performed on the night by Joanne Dennis. Mike Ryan won the Audience Favourite Award with his song Palace Of The Peacock.
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