Butte County native Aaron Rodgers, North Valley Community Foundation award grants for Thompson Fire relief
OROVILLE – New York Jets quarterback and Butte County native Aaron Rodgers and the North Valley Community Foundation (NVCF) deployed $100,000 to help Thompson Fire evacuees.
The NVCF announced that it and Rodgers awarded $10,000 to 10 organizations for emergency shelters, gas cards, food, diapers and other necessities for those who evacuated due to the 3,500-acre Thompson Fire near Oroville.
"With the help of my friends at the North Valley Community Foundation, I will always be committed to helping my beloved Northern California home areas," Rodgers said in a news release. "My heart goes out to the families and communities affected, and we will be deploying funds immediately to help those in need."
The NVCF's Wildfire Relief and Recovery Fund was created to help organizations working with people who have been affected by wildfires. It has deployed more than $67 million in donations for survivors of the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise.
Rodgers, the four-time NFL MVP and Chico native, created the Aaron Rodgers NorCal Recovery Fund at the NVCF after the Camp Fire. Rodgers went to Pleasant Valley High School in Chico. After high school, he played football at Butte College and Cal Berkeley before the Green Bay Packers took him in the 2005 draft.
"We know how important it is to move quickly when people are in crisis. Unfortunately, we've seen it too many times in recent years with wildfires in our area," said NVCF President and CEO Alexa Benson-Valavanis. "In partnership with our dear friend Aaron, we are identifying relief organizations that need resources to help evacuees. We will be there to help as long as we are needed to help our communities recover."
The Thompson Fire, which started on Tuesday, has burned over 3,500 acres near Oroville and forced about 28,000 people to evacuate. Cal Fire has reported that eight firefighters have been injured.
The following organizations were awarded $10,000:
- Oroville Hope Center
- Oroville Church of the Nazarene
- Tiny Pine Foundation
- Community Action Agency's North State Food Bank
- Butte-Glenn VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster)
- Northern Valley Catholic Social Service
- Oroville Southside Community Improvement Association
- North Valley Animal Disaster Group
- American Red Cross
- United Way of Northern California
