The week's good news: March 5, 2020

1. Men use cactus to create a sustainable alternative to leather

Adrián López Velarde and Marte Cázarez wanted to create a vegan alternative to leather, and the answer was growing around them the whole time. Because they were employed in the automotive and fashion industries in Mexico, López Velarde and Cázarez worked with a lot of leather. They realized how many natural resources go into making leather and how much is wasted every year, and sought to develop a new sustainable version. With cactus growing across Mexico, the pair decided to try to make leather out of the plant. They spent two years doing research and development, and found a winning process, which involves cutting organically grown nopal cactus leaves, then cleaning, mashing, and drying them. The final product, called Desserto, can be shaped into any texture, and is breathable, partially biodegradable, doesn't stain, and should last 10 years. So far, it's been used for shoes, purses, and car seats.

Good News Network

2. College basketball player scores 1st points since traumatic brain injury

Josh Speidel waited a long time for this moment. The University of Vermont senior made his basketball team debut on Tuesday during a game against the University of Albany. A star on his high school team, in 2015 Speidel accepted a scholarship to play at the university. Soon after, he was nearly killed in a car accident, and spent six weeks in a coma. Speidel sustained a traumatic brain injury, but Vermont's coach made sure he could keep his scholarship. Although he wasn't able to play all four years as he had planned, Speidel was thrilled to hit the court for the first time on Tuesday. To cheers, Speidel showed how far he's come, scoring two points with a layup. "I can't put into words how it made me feel," he told CBS News, adding, "It's just nice to be able to say I ended my college career shooting 100 percent."

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CBS News

3. Principal opens barber shop in elementary school to bond with students over haircuts

Terrance Newton believes that 90 percent of what he knows in life, he learned in the barbershop. Growing up, it's where he learned how to listen to others and respect his elders. "Of course we would have barbershop talk like sports and politics, but as far as life-wise, when I would go to the barbershop, the conversations with me and my barber were about me staying out of trouble, my grades, and what's happening in the community," Newton told Good Morning America. When Newton became principal of Warner Elementary School in Delaware last year and saw the high rate of suspensions and behavioral problems, he decided to bring the barbershop to the school. He set up an area with clippers, combs, and grooming capes, and sees kids throughout the day, doling out haircuts along with advice. "This is not just a barbershop for me," Newton said. "This is my mentoring sanctuary."

Good Morning America

4. New York teacher launches boxing class to help young people on the autism spectrum

Jessica Margulies is changing the way people see boxing. Margulies teaches children with autism, and began boxing to alleviate stress. It makes her feel "confident and strong," Margulies told Today, and she realized this would be a "great" experience to share with kids with special needs. "Boxing has a negative connotation," she said, with people thinking about violence and anger, "but actually it's the opposite. It teaches you control and release." She started a class called the Spectrum Bout at the Title Boxing Club in Queens, open for people on the autism spectrum between the ages of 7 and 22. They work on coordination and learn discipline, and it's a place where they feel accepted. Michele Roett-Maynard's son Joshua is a participant, and she told Today he enjoys engaging with his fellow boxers through sparring. "I think it gives him a sense of confidence because he's a lot calmer than what he used to be," she said.

Today

5. Teacher celebrates Black History Month with new costumes every day

Every day in February, Latoya McGriff entered her classroom as a different person. One day, she donned a tutu and was ballerina Misty Copeland; on another, she wore a robe, signifying she was the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. McGriff is a first grade teacher at Creekside Elementary School in Suffolk, Virginia, and in honor of Black History Month, she dressed up daily as a prominent African-American historical figure. "I just wanted to bring history alive for the kids," McGriff told Good Morning America. Most of the students at Creekside are black, and McGriff said it's "important for the children to see that people who look like them have made contributions, because it reassures them that they can, too. It's hard to believe in something you don't see." She hopes that by hearing about these trailblazers, her students learn "no matter what the circumstances, they can make a difference in this world."

Good Morning America