By Howard Packowitz

NORMAL – Green Bay Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers attracted a record crowd of about 1,100 people Tuesday night for the annual Evening of Stars fundraiser for the American Red Cross serving Central Illinois.

Packers and Bears fans alike cheered the Super Bowl hero, whose exploits extend well beyond the gridiron.

The popular spokesman for Bloomington’s State Farm Insurance came from a lower middle class family, and Rodgers says great responsibility accompanies his fame and fortune.

For example, Rodgers went to Zambia to provide hearings aids for children who’ve never heard before.

“If you get the opportunity to do something like this, you’ve got to do it, but you’ve got to bring a box of Kleenex as well,” said Rodgers.

“It’s a pretty life-changing experience when you see somebody who has never heard before try to deal with the noice in their head that they’ve never understood or had that experience before. It’s pretty special,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers also talked about his 90 minute meeting with the Dalai Lama, which he said was an unforgetable experience.

“He has a global message about kindness and compassion and love, and I think everybody can related to that whether you’re a Christian, Buddhist, atheist, Muslim, Catholic. He’s all about bringing people together, ” Rodgers said of the Dalai Lama.

Rodgers found it funny that a picture of the meeting was posted on the Dalai Lama’s Instagram account.

Tuesday marked 25 years of the Evening of Stars benefit, and since then the event has raised more than $2.5 million for the Red Cross.

The first featured star was the late CBS News broadcaster Charles Kuralt.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]