"No family should ever have to go through what they are going through," the words of one mum who wanted to do what she could after a tragedy that is still felt throughout the close-knit Warracknabeal community.
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Shannon 'Sparkles' Moloney didn't know Jake Duncan, but she decided to take action in remembrance of him.
"I would have seen him around in the supermarket," she said.
"His son is the same age as my son; they were in prep and year one together.
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"I only knew him through our sons at school.
"I felt for his family and decided to do something."
Jake Duncan passed away in early 2020 in a hit and run.
Shannon initially thought her first 100 pairs of sunflower earrings wouldn't sell, but she sold more than 250 pairs.
One hundred per cent of the sale's profit goes to the fundraising to the memorial for Jake Duncan.
Shannon has raised $2500 for the memorial bench and plaque for Jake Duncan, all through tiny sunflower earrings.
"The response has been insane," she said.
"They have gone all over Australia and some people in New Zealand want to make an order."
Shannon said she had received hundreds of messages about the sunflower earrings.
"It's a close community in Warracknabeal. You someone's face, even if you don't know their name," she said.
"People will give donations, as well as buy earrings, and message me about the earrings and what I've been doing.
"You get stories from other people. One family member bought four pairs because she lost her son a few years back, and every Christmas, they put a sunflower on their table to remind them of him.
"It something everyone can have and you don't have to speak about it, everyone knows what it means."
- Shannon Moloney
"People have just responded with such beautiful messages of support."
Shannon said there is an unspoken connection with the sunflowers.
"You do something like this, when it's for somebody, it takes on a whole different meaning," she said.
"It something everyone can have and you don't have to speak about it, everyone knows what it means."
Shannon also sold wheelie bin stickers of sunflowers as a remembrance for Jake, another unspoken form of community and support.
"You drive through town on bin day and you see all these sunflowers, it's amazing," she said.
She said now the bench has been paid for, she wants to continue making jewellery because she has enjoyed it.
To buy a pair of sunflower earrings, message Shannon Sparkles through Facebook or call her on 0401 066 093.
The memorial bench and plaque will be unveiled later this year.
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