My Journey with Robin Hood

Elizabeth Andrew was so right when she said volunteers do not necessarily have the time, they just have the heart. Smita Singh shares with Anjana Das how she has been able to lead a purposeful life and career, in parallel. 

It was over a casual cup of tea that I heard of the Robin Hood Army to donate used clothes and toys to. Today, I am so deeply involved with them, my children prefer to celebrate their birthdays with the kids on street drives.
It started with donating clothes and stationery that our children had outgrown, Smita Singh says, “but after a visit to the center I realized we could do more.”
The Robin Hood Army (RHA) has no revenue, employees, nor office space. If you want to help all we need is your time, they say. This is what struck her as distinctly different from other charity organizations. Robin Hood Army does not seek funds. They ask volunteers for time to help distribute the surplus food from restaurants to the homeless.

After a few street events like Food and Clothes Drives, Singh’s family began celebrating birthday’s with the street children. She spoke with a few friends who joined her on the door-to-door mission, collecting stationery and toys for the kids. This was two years ago, when the Covid fear was at its peak.
The kids she met appeared to be so eager to learn that she offered classes for them on the street, under trees and in shady car parks. Despite their lack of schooling they sat attentively throughout the hour-long class.

“I learnt how to be patient from them,” says Singh, a teacher herself, “and how to manage things even when basic necessities were lacking.” The problem is not just about going hungry; it was to make food available consistently to those needing it. RHA is founded on this premise.

She found herself devoting more, working weekends and teaching late evenings. These are children of household maids and nearby slum areas. They draw, paint and take dance classes. More and more kids have started joining.“For all the drives we organized, I knew I couldn’t do it alone,” believes Singh, “so I asked my friends and our neighbourhood society to help.”

Two years with Robin Hood, and the biggest satisfaction is when she sees more people enthusiast about helping with winter clothes, food drives and their time, she admits. “Whatever I do, I do it with dedication and devotion,” she is clear. 

Smita Singh handles sales at infyni. As a teacher my strengths are patience and perseverance. E-learning was a new path for me but it was also an opportunity to add a new skill.
Infyni may be relatively new in the market (launched in 2017) but it has grown organically. Unlike many others that offer recorded sessions to learn from, infyni offers live online classes with instructors interacting intently with students.

Today, of the 100,000 students, 70% are repeat learners who have come back to infyni for other skills. A separate website caters exclusively for kids’ courses that offers coding, chess, public speaking as well as coaching for SAT preparatory tests.

With a clear-cut mandate to ensure students are given all the support they need when learning a new skill, a lot of attention is given to standards and quality. Many students have cleared interviews to successful careers.     

I have worked in several workplaces but most of all what I find fulfilling at infyni is that there are mentors to coach me, says Singh.
“We are given the flexibility to contribute with creative ideas. “I make posters, talk to clients, and come up with trending courses to launch. And now, I am learning Data analysis,” she reveals, excitedly.

Smita Singh has been able to pursue her purpose of giving back to society while having a career. My journey with Robin Hood and infyni are both going hand in hand.  ~ Anjana Das