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11-Year-Old Donates Her Earnings To Sacramento Pool-Saving Campaign

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - When 11-year-old Rachel Buller came to a Save Mart in Natomas with her mother, she says it just came to her - she knew right away where she wanted her hard-earned money to go.

"I really just wanted to put the money somewhere good," she said.

When she's not taking care of her dog, or winning medals at a swim meet or practicing on her keyboard, she's busy doing something that's music to the ears. She's raising money to help save Sacramento city pools:

Drowning in a deficit, Sacramento's pools may be sunk, as in staying closed for the summer. But not if Rachel can help it.

"I wanted to do as much as possible, but I wanted to at least get $500 and it's soared far beyond that," she said.

Inspired by her family's Christmas tradition of lighting up the neighborhood, a light bulb went off for Rachel - sell cookies, mistletoe and hot chocolate outside as cars stopped to admire the display.

"I made a thousand dollars," she said.

And that amount is soon to be matched by Save Mart. The supermarket chain is leading the charge to make sure kids can still make a splash this summer.

Save Mart is matching up to $5,000 for donations to keep the pools open.

The experience has been educational for Rachel.

"It's taught me you can do more with your money than just spend it on candy and toys," she said. "You can actually make a difference."

"I'm really proud of her," her mother said.

Inspired by Rachel, others are stepping up to donate. Save Mart says, with its matching money, the tally is close to $200,000.

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