Pastor Rudy Rasmus has a mantra about his community in Houston, Texas:  “I love you and there’s nothing you can do about it.” He is the co-founder of Bread of Life, a nonprofit organization focused on providing resources to underserved communities and the homeless population through weekly food distributions, health support, disaster relief and community outreach.

Growing up in the segregated south, Pastor Rasmus understands firsthand how it feels to be treated as less than human: “When I reflect on growing up in a city with two water fountains and two doors, one marked coloreds only, I often get to really reflect on the trauma of that difference and how it impacted my journey.” That may be why he felt such a strong calling to help the homeless population and others in need in his community: “At the end of the day, I think homeless people are people without homes.”

In 2017, Houston was hit by Hurricane Harvey, which devastated the city. Pastor Rasmus describes the impact the hurricane had on the homeless population: “Imagine having nowhere to go and no security. That’s the experience of a homeless person at any time… then add a natural calamity to that and you have a situation that puts that person not only in harm’s way but can raise anxiety to an unimaginable level.”

It was at this time that Bread of Life began working with Matthew 25: Ministries, an international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization helping the poorest of the poor and disaster victims throughout the United States and around the world. “Almost immediately,” says Pastor Rasmus, “the first truck rolled from Matthew 25: Ministries to our warehouse in Houston. From that day forward, we have had the most amazing partnership I’ve ever experienced.” Over the past 4 years, the food and supplies from Matthew 25: Ministries, including personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies from brands like Dawn, Tide, Gillette and Pampers donated by Procter & Gamble, have provided relief and comforts of home during the most critical times in Houston, Texas.

Since the hurricane, Matthew 25: Ministries and Bread of Life have teamed up time and again to provide support for the vulnerable populations of Houston, thanks to the donations provided by Procter & Gamble. Pastor Rasmus has been there through it all, and he credits his own struggles for getting him ready to help others: “As challenging as my childhood was, I can look back now and say, ‘Ah, so you were preparing me for something.’”

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P&G and its brands believe they have a responsibility to be a force for good — through the products they create and the positive impact they can have. That’s why the Company committed to Lead with Love and do 2,021 Acts of Good in 2021. The P&G product donations to organizations like Matthew 25: Ministries is just one example and you can learn more about how P&G and Matthew 25: Ministries are coming together for communities in need here. And be sure to check out all of the “Leading with Love” stories, a series of five new KCM videos produced in partnership with P&G.