HERE at the Leader, we want to spread some smiles this weekend with a few of the positive stories from the last week that made us (and hopefully you!) smile.

As coronavirus dominates the news headlines, we believe it is important to make sure it is not just doom and gloom reporting that makes it to your newspapers and online feeds. We have looked back at the last week of news and picked out some of our favourite stories that have made us smile…

A set of stories have been published this week by reporter Aaliyah Rugg after we launched our campaign to support the Wrexham Hospital’s League of Friends charity and aim to raise £5,000 to go towards buying vital equipment in the fight against COVID-19.

Aaliyah said: “I think in times like this, it is important for us all to come together and work together to see what we can do to help. The only way we will get through this is together and I think that really showed with this campaign.”

In just 24 hours, readers donated more than £1000 to the cause and that figure continues to rise.

She added: “We chose the Maelor due to it being the main hospital in the area, a hospital used by people in Flintshire, Wrexham and beyond. It makes me smile knowing that people will come together and do what they can to put their arms around others (figuratively speaking of course).

“Every charity, organisation and person are doing an incredible job to ensure nobody gets left behind during this rollercoaster we find ourselves on. We see you all, we appreciate you all and we are all there with you.”

Another story that brightened our days at the Leader came from reporter Andrew Nuttall who shared the story of a mum from across the border in Chester making use of her one allocated exercise session by walking around her block dressed in an inflatable T-Rex costume.

Andrew said: “It was just a bizarre story but one that the lady in question said brought so many smiles to people she passed.

“It is not often you would expect to see a costumed person walking down the street but I think it did a good job of taking people’s minds off the doom and gloom of lockdown for even a few minutes.”

Finally, community reporter Sophie Edwards was beaming with pride after the Leader reported that the Unbeatable Eva campaign reached its massive fundraising target as well as getting brilliant news about her condition.

The parents of brave Eva Williams have been given the news that her tumour has shrunk as the fundraising campaign to send her for treatment in the USA smashes the £250,000 mark.

She said: "This story made me smile because the next day I think they raised well over the target which is just fantastic.

"I am unbelievably proud of the community for raising this incredible amount in just a few short weeks – not to mention that many planned events had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak."

The Leader has also launched a new print feature ‘Lets Celebrate’ highlighting how Wrexham and Flintshire residents are doing things a little bit different this year to mark special occasions as we get used to staying at home. Spread a little happiness and share your photos, videos and good news with us at news@leaderlive.co.uk