REDDING, Calif. - 20 different local businesses in Shasta County received $5,000 checks, all thanks to one tribal government.

It was an emotional day for some local small businesses in Shasta County.

Friday morning, the Redding Rancheria Tribal Government donated $100,000 to 20 different businesses that are suffering from the pandemic.

Members in the tribal government hand-selected businesses that they had a special connection to help them with unforeseen expenses.

Action News Now spoke with Jack Potter Jr., the Redding Rancheria Tribal Chairman, about why they saw this was important to do for their community.

He said, “A lot of the major players in the community are those small businesses. They are hurting. I’m seeing them close. They may be open one day and then they are told ‘Oh, you can’t open tomorrow because this needs to be in place and that.’ That’s money spent that they didn’t probably have in the annual budget. You know, I don’t want to see anything more close. If we can help in some way, we are going to do that.”

Why was this so helpful to these businesses?

We spoke with a few owners to find out.

Dan Burton, the owner of Kaleidoscope Coffee Company, said, “I just thought it was amazing for them to put out $100,000 into the community when … it has been such a hard year. It just makes you feel grateful.”

The owner of Player’s Pizza & Sports in Anderson, Penny Grant, was stunned when she heard the news.

She said, “I have never received $5,000 before so utter shock and just complete humbleness. It’s crazy that a group of people can sit around a table and choose you. To me, that’s just the biggest honor I could have and the highlight of our year.”

Crystal Franklin, owner of PIBB’S Sports and Family Gathering in Happy Valley, said, “It’s going to help us quite a bit. $5,000 is a lot when you’re a small business owner going through what we are going through.” She continued, “Like I said, I’ve got quite a few employees, I got a big family so it’s really going to…it’s amazing how much it’s going to help us out.”

One of the main goals with this donation was to emphasize how we need to support each other during these trying times.

The Redding Rancheria Tribal Government said while this is a new donation compared to years past, they hope to continue helping local businesses in the future.