Aaron Rodgers Donates $1 Million to Small Businesses in Hometown

Aaron Rodgers is doing his part to help out his hometown. On Monday, it was announced the Green Bay Packers quarterback donated $1 million to help 80 small businesses in Chico and Butte County, California. The 80 businesses and restaurants will receive grants to help cover rent for three months or longer and other costs through the Aaron Rodgers Small-Business COVID-19 Fund at the North Valley Community Foundation.

“Small, locally-owned businesses are the heart and soul of a community,” Rodgers said in a press release. “In the applications and the videos, it was heart-wrenching to hear about all the obstacles facing restaurants and retail establishments. So many of them are struggling just to stay in business but remain hopeful that there’s an end to this.”

The fund was launched in early February with a $500,000 from the Green Bay Packers quarterback. He then decided to increase the donation to $1 million after seeing businesses needed more. “Aaron is such an incredible person, NVCF CEO Alexa Benson-Valavanis said in the release. “He looked at everything, decided he wanted to do more, and doubled down on his original $500,000 commitment. He is such a champion for his hometown.”

This instance is not the first time Rodgers had helped out his community. In November 2018, Rodgers donated $1 million to Camp Fire recovery at fires ravaged Butte County. It led to NVCF raising more than $3 million as Rodgers’ fans and business partners got on board. Rodgers is also a founding member of the Butte Strong Found along with the NVCF and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.

The news comes off a very busy month for Rodgers. On Feb. 6, Rodgers won the NFL MVP award, the third time he claimed the title. On that same night, Rodgers announced he got engaged to Shailene Woodley.

“2020 was definitely a crazy year, filled with lots of change, growth, some amazing memorable moments,” Rodgers said during his acceptance speech. “A hundred and eighty straight days of having my nose hairs scraped. Playing for very little fans or no stands the entire season. I got engaged, and I played some of the best football of my career.”