Premier Valley Bank Donates $100,000 to California COVID-19 Relief Initiatives

PVB logo

Premier Valley Bank Donates $100,000

to California COVID-19 Relief Initiatives

Bank directs immediate funds to support the homeless, medical

supplies, emergency meals, and services for trauma support

FRESNO, CA – Premier Valley Bank announced today it will commit $100,000 to support four local community initiatives related to the California's COVID-19 crisis. The Fresno-based bank will give $25,000 contributions to the Fresno Rescue Mission, Valley Children's Healthcare Foundation, Cornerstone Community Care, and Fresno Police Chaplaincy. This latest community outreach follows earlier announcements about the bank's comprehensive COVID-19 response measures centered around financial relief for clients and employee safety.

"This is an unprecedented time for businesses and families across California," expressed Lo Nestman, President and CEO of Premier Valley Bank. "Our employees, clients, and community continue to come together to help one another during this crisis. It has reinforced how fortunate we are to live and work in California. On behalf of our amazing team at Premier Valley Bank, I am proud to support these important community relief efforts."

Give Help Now is a fundraising campaign created by generous business leaders in the community to raise money for local nonprofits providing services to those impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Every dollar donated will be matched up to $100,000 per charity for maximum impact, virtually doubling our efforts to help those who need it most.

"We are beyond grateful to have strong community partners rallying to the aid of Fresno County's neediest residents," said Jerry Dyer, Fresno's Mayor-Elect and former Police Chief. "While we work to confront an unprecedented pandemic, I appreciate Premier Valley Bank stepping up to the plate and helping our community."

Premier Valley Bank's Give Help Now donation will directly benefit the Fresno Rescue Mission. This local nonprofit organization is dedicated to helping change the lives of men, women and children who are in desperate need.

"We are extremely grateful for our partnership with Premier Valley Bank which extends well beyond simply a business relationship," said Matt Dildine, CEO of the Fresno Rescue Mission. "This donation allows us to further our common commitment to serve the most vulnerable in our Community and comes at a time when we are seeing an unprecedented number of children and families in need of our services."   

Premier Valley Bank's contribution will impact countless lives in our local community by helping provide the following:

• Hot meals
• Safe, clean beds
• Clean clothing
• Showers & hygiene items
• Access to medical care & other critical resources
• A better future

Valley Children's Healthcare Foundation supports one of the largest pediatric healthcare networks in the country. For nearly 70 years, Valley Children's has been one of the state's largest children's hospitals, protecting 1.3 million kids in the Central Valley. As COVID-19 cases rise across the Central Valley, the demand for medical supplies has surged.

"We are grateful for Premier Valley Bank's continued generous support, particularly at this time as we respond to such an unprecedented challenge in the form of COVID-19," said Robert Saroyan, President of Valley Children's Healthcare Foundation. "Premier Valley Bank has been actively supporting Valley Children's through Kids Day and other important initiatives for the past 14 years. This gift will help us provide personal protective equipment to keep patients, families, and staff safe as we continue to deliver exceptional pediatric care."

Premier Valley Bank's donation will help slow the spread of the virus at the hospital by funding the following medical supplies:

• Masks (N95, surgical, and procedure)
• Disinfecting wipes such as Clorox or Sani-cloth wipes
• Hand sanitizer
• Face shields
• Goggles and eye shields
• Isolation or surgical gowns
• CAPR/PAPR machines and disposables

Cornerstone Community Care (CCC) is a volunteer driven food distribution leader that has served the humanitarian needs of the impoverished for over 20 years. With COVID-19 impacting our economy, many people in our community have lost their jobs and need food. Our donation ensures quick accessibility to free meals in our Fresno, SLO and Yosemite markets where immediate action is needed.

"We at Community Care are so thankful for the generous gift from Premier Valley Bank," said Javier Garza, Development Director of CCC. "We are looking forward to this partnership in collectively meeting the needs of our communities. We're in this together!" 

Premier Valley Bank's donation will directly serve the needs of 1,250 families of 5 with food for an entire week by funding the following:

• Purchase of nutritious food
• Secure distribution locations
• Mobilize hundreds of volunteers
• Transport food to distribution locations

The Fresno Police Chaplaincy focuses on responding to trauma. 500-700 calls are made to the FPD every month involving children exposed to trauma, and the highest percentage of those calls are related to domestic violence. Each year, 7,300 kids in our community are impacted by domestic violence; unfortunately, this has increased since shelter-in-place orders were enacted due to COVID-19. Our donation offers support during this pandemic crisis to kids and families impacted by these traumas.

"We've had a long-standing relationship with Premier Valley Bank and greatly appreciate their financial support," said Rodney Lowery, Executive Director of the Fresno Police Chaplaincy. "Their partnership during these difficult times ensures our services to Fresno families go uninterrupted." 

Premier Valley Bank's donation will contribute towards the organization's Resiliency Center, providing the following care:

• Assist in proactively reaching out to 12 families per day offering their services
• Contact a hurting family in a matter of hours from the crisis event
• Offer support through early identification and intervention
• Case management and counseling services
• Utilize tele-mental health services proactively and immediately
• Serve youth segments that historically have less access to services

To support these organizations, please visit the following websites today:
Give Help Now – www.givehelpnow.org
Fresno Rescue Mission – www.fresnorm.org
Valley Children's Hospital Foundation – www.valleychildrens.org
Cornerstone Community Care – https://cccare.churchcenter.com/giving/to/general
Fresno Police Department Chaplaincy – www.fresnopdchaplaincy.org

Premier Valley Bank Part of $1.2 Million Community Outreach Initiative
Heartland Financial USA, Inc., the holding company of Premier Valley Bank and 10 other regional banks across the United States, is contributing a total of $1.2 million to COVID-19 community relief programs.  The outreach is funding families and businesses across 12 states impacted by the crisis.

Banking Client Relief Actions
Since the beginning of the crisis, Premier Valley Bank has enacted a multitude of programs aimed at providing financial relief for consumer, small business, and commercial clients. As an SBA-certified lender, Premier Valley Bank is also working with business clients to utilize available CARES Act funding, such as the Paycheck Protection Program, Emergency Economic Injury Disaster Loans, and other programs.  Please visit our COVID-19 resource center on our website for frequent updates.

Keeping Our Employee Team Safe
Premier Valley Bank continues to adapt our operations to the evolving environment. This has included having much of our workforce working remotely from home, modifying bank lobby access, restricting employee travel and group meetings, and intensifying the cleaning regiments of all our locations. Premier Valley Bank has also implemented a premium pay increase of 20% for its hourly customer-facing bank branch employees and customer service representatives in our call centers.  The bank has also committed to cover all COVID-19 related testing and treatment costs for its primary healthcare plan participants. 

About
About Premier Valley Bank Premier Valley Bank, a member of Heartland Financial USA, Inc., HTLF, is a community bank with assets of more than $900 million. Premier Valley Bank offers a wide array of deposit, loan and private client services from locations in Fresno, Oakhurst, Mariposa, Groveland, San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles and Morro Bay. For more information, visit www.premiervalleybank.com or call 877.280.1863. Premier Valley Bank is a member of the FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender. About Heartland Financial USA, Inc. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. is a diversified financial services company with assets of $13.2 billion. The company provides banking, mortgage, private client, investment and insurance services to individuals and businesses. Heartland currently has 114 banking locations serving 83 communities in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Texas and California. Additional information about Heartland Financial USA, Inc. is available at www.htlf.com. Safe Harbor Statement This release, and future oral and written statements of Heartland and its management, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about Heartland's financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. Although these forward-looking statements are based upon the beliefs, expectations and assumptions of Heartland's management, there are a number of factors, many of which are beyond the ability of management to control or predict, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in its forward-looking statements. These factors, which are detailed in the risk factors included in Heartland's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, include, among others: (i) the strength of the local and national economy; (ii) the economic impact of past and any future terrorist threats and attacks and any acts of war, (iii) changes in state and federal laws, regulations and governmental policies concerning the Company's general business; (iv) changes in interest rates and prepayment rates of the Company's assets; (v) increased competition in the financial services sector and the inability to attract new customers; (vi) changes in technology and the ability to develop and maintain secure and reliable electronic systems; (vii) the loss of key executives or employees; (viii) changes in consumer spending; (ix) unexpected results of acquisitions; (x) unexpected outcomes of existing or new litigation involving the Company; and (xi) changes in accounting policies and practices. All statements in this release, including forward-looking statements, speak only as of the date they are made, and Heartland undertakes no obligation to update any statement in light of new information or future events.