27 SOMDG hosts school supply giveaway

Children from the Baptist Children's Home in Portales flocked to their central pavilion where Air Commandos from the 27th Special Operations Medical Group were hosting the 2012 School Supplies Giveaway on July 28.

USAF: Airman 1st Class Ericka Engblom

Yolanda Infante, 27th Special Operations Medical Support Squadron secretary, hands a backpack full of school supplies to a youth from the Baptist Children's Home in Portales. The home has been receiving support from Cannon Air Force Base since 1954.

Each of the 86 children received a backpack stocked with school supplies needed for the upcoming school year. The day's events also included a cookout for the youths.

The medical group has been working with the home since its activation in 1954 and hosts two other events at the home each year. During the Christmas holiday, the 27 SOMDG provides gifts for all of the home's children and during Easter the 27 SOMDG puts on an activities day, complete with an egg hunt and barbeque.

"The medical group is proud to do this," said Yolanda Infante, 27th Special Operations Medical Support Squadron secretary, "The children's home is our extended family."