RAPID CITY - Ellsworth Air Force Base's 28th Operations Group will carry out a different sort of mission Thursday.

The 28th OG, which includes the 28th Operations Support Squadron, 34th Bomb Squadron and 37th Bomb Squadron, will deliver the toys it has collected over the past several weeks for children enrolled in Youth & Family Services Child Care program.

"We wanted to branch out and see what we could do for the Rapid City area community," MSgt. Cary Loeffler said. "We wanted to give back to the community that supports us."

YFS Child Care staff provided the names and ages of infants, toddlers and preschool-age children in their program to squadron members, who then bought gifts for every child. As many as 30 squadron members are expected to deliver more than 200 gifts to Child Care youngsters at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20.

The idea of a toy drive started among members of the 28th Operations Support Squadron who wanted to bring a little Christmas cheer to an organization outside Ellsworth.

That spirit of giving soon spread to the 34th and 37th bomb squadrons, whose members enthusiastically began adding to the growing pile of presents for YFS children.

"The response has just been overwhelming," Loeffler said.