Packers star Aaron Rodgers donates $1M to California wildfires recovery
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Wednesday said he will donate $1 million to aid relief efforts for victims of devastating wildfires that ravaged Northern California.
Rodgers said his donation will go to the North Valley Community Foundation. In addition, State Farm, one of Rodgers’ corporate partners, will match his contribution by donating up to $1 million toward recovery efforts, $1 for every retweet of Rodgers’ original Twitter post through midnight on Sunday, Nov. 25.
"In Northern California, where I was born and raised, the city of Paradise burned to the ground, and many of the residents who got out are now displaced to my hometown of Chico and across the north state," Rodgers said in a video posted on his Twitter account. I personally reached out to my friends and the mayor of Chico to find out how to be of the most help. And raising money for both immediate needs and the long-term recovery is what is needed most right now."
Rodgers, 34, grew up in Chico and attended the University of California-Berkeley. The North Valley Community Foundation said his funds will go toward meeting the immediate needs of wildfire victims, as well as funding kids programs, youth and high school sports and temporary housing for displaced residents.
At least 84 people have died as a result of the California wildfires, while hundreds more remain missing.