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Called into life nine years ago as only a private humanitarian endeavor to help children living in institutions and orphanages in the Kladno area, the Robin Hood program of  C4C (Chance 4 Children) (formerly East European Missions) has grown over the years into an effective tool, improving the lot (enhancing the quality of life) of literally thousands of socially disadvantaged children in the Czech Republic and neighboring Slovakia.The Robin Hood team is quick to reassure anyone asking that the name of the program does not indicate illegal activities – quite to the contrary. “Robin Hood, in our case, stands only for redistribution”, laughs Lech Nawara, the team’s program director. “Stealing doesn’t come into the picture, honestly! We’re merely asking those sectors of society which incur large surpluses, to help us make the playing field a little bit more level for children who are off to a rough start in life and can hardly call anything their own. Many surplus goods today are marked for destruction, which really doesn’t help anyone.”The team has managed to win the trust of some of the biggest multinational companies operating in the Czech Republic today to help them in their bid to make live more livable for institutionalized children. Giants like Proctor and Gamble, Unilever, Nokia, to just name a few, are all donating their surpluses to the program.And so it is today: The team recently received 52 tons of high quality cleaning and hygiene supplies for distribution to homes hosting children like Orphanages, homes for the physically and mentally handicapped and other homes with resident children. That’s almost 100 pallets, the size of a small football field. Worth an incredible 3 million crowns, the supplies will help the management of the homes to save resources to make needed improvements to the infrastructure of the homes, finance a outings or vacations for the children or invest into a new wardrobe for their little inhabitants. Distribution will start in the Kladno area and commence all over the country. The logistics of distributing large amounts of goods like this are daunting, but the team’s project coordinator, Vaclav Cermak, is not easily intimidated. “We’re used to distribution of large amounts of merchandise, however, some projects are more challenging then others” he smiles. “Some companies have incredible surpluses!” Cermak eludes to one of the teams biggest projects to date, last month distribution of over 50 tons of ice cream from one of the leading manufacturers, Algida of Unilever. The team managed to enlist the help of frozen food companies and use their storage houses all over the Czech Republic and Slovakia to make this summer a truly enjoyable experience for thousands of institutionalized children. “Even though a logistical nightmare, in the end it was well worth the effort” continues Cermak. “Some of these children never had an ice cream in their lives. The homes do not budget for items like this.”For the coming year the focus of the Robin Hood team is shifting to educational programs for the children they care for. C4C’s  (Chance 4 Children's) newly instituted “SPRINGBOARD TO LIFE” program is aimed at teaching real life skills to institutionalized children in the greater Prague and Kladno area. Language courses, computer workshops and baking and cooking courses will be taught by a group of roving and dedicated teachers, committed to improve the chances to succeed in life for these children less fortunate than others.