Tim DaleYorkshire
Lincolnshire Wildlife Park/BBCAcross Yorkshire, there are people doing amazing things every day of the week – and we want to highlight them.
This week, there were the tigers that want your Christmas trees and a mosque’s viral Pilates class.
Meanwhile, a weekly fundraising group in Sheffield celebrated raising £100,000 over six years.
Take a look below and enjoy some positive news stories from across BBC Yorkshire.
Our tigers want your Christmas trees
Wildlife parks across East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire launched an appeal for donations of old Christmas trees so they can turn festive leftovers into animal toys and treats.
Animal farms use them as food for alpacas and goats, hiding spaces for wallabies and air fresheners for big cats.
Jamie Mintram, co-owner of Ark Wildlife Park, in Stickney, said African pygmy goats in particular “absolutely love Christmas trees” and will “strip them bare in minutes”.
Mosque’s viral pilates classes
Cathy Minton/BBCLeaders at a mosque in Bradford said they were “shocked” after a video of their men’s Pilates class received more than two million views on social media.
Jamia Usmania Mosque on Heaton Road hosts classes aimed at men over 50 every Thursday.
Mohammed Ilyas, secretary at the mosque, said since the video had been uploaded he had received messages from across the world from people asking how they can run similar classes in their own mosques.
Fundraising group hits £100k milestone
suppliedA fundraising group that collects £1 a week from members to put towards good causes in the local community has raised more than £100,000 in donations.
The 500 Together project was established in October 2019 in Sheffield, with the aim of raising up to £500 a week through small contributions from each member of the group.
Co-founder Nichola Vasey said: “It leaves your heart feeling very full knowing people hold that care for strangers, and trust us to do the right thing with their money.”
How Barnsley led the way in women’s running
Back in November 1975 Barnsley ushered in a new dawn in competitive marathon running, when six women lined up alongside more than 150 men for the first ever mixed gender race in the UK.
Hilary Matthews, then aged 22, from Blackburn, was the first woman to finish the race.
Race organiser Dave Bennett, who still coaches at Barnsley Athletic Club, said it was a “big decision” at the time to include female runners, but looking back he was “proud we opened it up for the ladies”.