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Local Girl Raises $12K To Fight Breast Cancer With 'Quilt For A Cure'

FOUNTAIN VALLEY (CBSLA.com) — A local girl wanted to give back to the Fountain Valley treatment center that helped save her mother's life, so she went to work making a quilt.

Twelve-year-old Emma Mannetta, who recently passed on the crown as Junior Miss Southern California 2014, chose as her platform to support breast cancer patients.

In Orange Coast Memorial in Fountain Valley, where her mother has been receiving treatment for years, she not only began a quilt project, but also raised funds for those battling cancer.

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"She hit her goal, she exceeded her goal, [raising] just over $12,000," Orange Coast Memorial Foundation's Paul Stimson said. "And the quilt here, it's right across from the entrance to the breast center and it will serve as an inspiration to other women that are undergoing the same journey her mother has ungone."

Emma sold the squares for the quilt, which include personal messages to patients.

"You can beat this cancer," one reads. "We love and you we are here for you."

"It was basically just a way to give hope and strength to anyone that walked by it inside," Emma explained.

Emma's mom, Shawna Mannetta, was inspired by the quilt as well, and says she's raised her children to do for others.

"It made her feel powerful. It made her feel like she has a family at the hospital. It just made her feel really involved, like she made a big difference for everyone," Shawna said.

Emma says she, too, has benefited from making the quilt.

"I think that it helped me in a great way," she said.

"I've been able to meet the new people through it and I've also been able to thank the doctors and everyone else who has supported me and my family, and also the doctors who kept my mom alive."

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