By Jim Robinson
Staff

Money from the Mississauga-Airport Rotary Club made it possible for Malton school children to learn about the dangers of substance abuse and HIV/AIDS.

A group of puppeteers called The Concerned Kids appeared recently before a group of 170 Grade 8 students at Malton's Lancaster Senior Public School.

The Concerned Kids was formed in 1988 in Toronto by four women who felt getting the message across about substance abuse and HIV/AIDS could best be accomplished through the use of interactive puppets.

The group now includes more than 30 volunteer puppeteers who will make 297 appearances in 1999 before more than 50,000 students.

"Children listen and hear when puppets speak," said The Concerned Kids spokesperson Joyce Attis. "We believe puppetry is an ideal way to give children, parents and other concerned adults some much-needed information."

"Puppetry is also an effective way to interact with children concerning issues that are important to them."

Mississauga-Airport Rotary president Ted Leishman thanked the group for bringing their message to the students of Malton.