NFL star Aaron Rodgers announces $ 1 million contribution to camp relief efforts

Aaron Rodgers, the star quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, announced Wednesday that he would donate a million dollars to Camp Fire's rescue efforts after the deadliest and most deadly fire. The most destructive of the state's history has ravaged communities near his hometown in Butte County.

Rodgers, who was born and raised in Chico, said in a video posted on Twitter that he had contacted his friends and the mayor of the city to see how he could help rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of the day. a fire that killed at least 81 people and destroyed 18,421 people. structures.

"The city of Paradise has been completely burned down and many people who have gone out are now displaced in my hometown of Chico," he said. "Fundraising for immediate needs and long-term recovery is what we need most at the moment."

Rodgers, who has twice won the NFL's Most Valuable Player Award and signed the richest contract in league history in August, has opened a relief fund with the North Valley Community Foundation, an association with non-profit. For every retweet that includes the hashtag #Retweet4Change, he said, State Farm Insurance will pay a Sunday, up to a million dollars.

The campfire caught fire on November 8 and left a path of destruction. Thousands of people have been displaced, hundreds are still missing, and most evacuees from Paradise and Magalia are still subject to a mandatory evacuation order.

Rodgers played college at Butte Community College before being transferred to UC Berkeley. He then became a first-round Green Bay Packers pick in 2005, after the San Francisco 49ers left him with the first pick in the repechage.

Rodgers sat for three years behind the Brett Favre Hall of Fame before leading the Packers to a Super Bowl XLV win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011. He has since set numerous NFL records and is considered a premier Famer.

Sarah Ravani and Josh Koehn are editors of the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected], [email protected], Twitter: @SarRavani, @Josh_Koehn