A young resident holds a rescued puffling before releasing it from a sea cliff in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland, on August 20, 2024. In August and September, an annual tradition brings entire families out to the streets and harbor of Vestmannaeyjar late at night, where they work to find and rescue misdirected young puffins, called pufflings. During their first flight, the pufflings can become confused in the darkness, flying from sea cliffs toward city lights rather than toward the moonlight, and ending up stranded on dangerous city streets. Once they are rescued, the pufflings are brought to either a beach or a cliff to be released into the sea. #

Medalists from North Korea, China, and South Korea pose for a selfie during the medal ceremony after the Table Tennis Mixed Doubles Gold Medal match on day four of the 2024 Olympic Games at South Paris Arena. Team China won gold, North Korea took silver, and South Korea took the bronze medal. #

Pensioners Ella and John from Parkdale Care Center enjoy a ride out with the Auchterarder Trishaw Project and their volunteers Gordon McLeay and Gail Robertson on October 2, 2024. The town of Auchterarder, Scotland, is helping its old and needy get out and about by cycling them around in "trishaw" bikes. Elderly residents are given day trips and fresh air in the pedaled three-wheelers with a front seated carriage. Volunteers take people from care homes for rides to tourist attractions and scenic spots as part of the group Cycling Without Age Scotland. #

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain holds a trophy as he celebrates with a group of ball kids after winning the Men's Singles Final match against Alexander Zverev of Germany on day 15 of the 2024 French Open, at Roland Garros, in Paris, France, on June 9, 2024. #

Young people play in the waves at North Narrabeen on January 27, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. About 30 Indigenous children from Brewarrina, Weilmoringle, and Goodooga, in the far northwest of New South Wales, traveled to Sydney to participate in an event that is part of the Bush to Beach program, which gives Indigenous children the opportunity to learn and explore Sydney's beach culture. Bush to Beach is a charity dedicated to inspiring hope and promoting education for Aussie bush kids. This trip was a reward for school attendance and an opportunity for the kids to see that there is another world outside their community and help develop confidence and self-esteem, according to Bush to Beach co-founder Jack Cannons. #

Wendy Adriaens, the founder of De Passiehoeve, an animal-rescue farm where animals support people with autism, depression, anxiety, or drug problems, offers a hug to Blondie, a six-year-old female ostrich, in Kalmthout, Belgium, on March 8, 2024. #

A man embraces a horse at Oleksandr and Hanna Nikolenko's Rai ("Heaven") stable, which provides a psychological-rehabilitation program for members of the military in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. #

An Iberian lynx runs after being released in the Sierra de Arana mountain range, 40 kilometers from Granada, in Iznalloz, Spain, on February 20, 2024. Five Iberian lynx were released in a mountainous area of the Andalusian province of Granada as part of the LIFE LynxConnect project to repopulate this native species. #

Thousands of volunteers carry brooms and shovels, preparing to help clean areas affected by the floods of October 29 in Valencia, Spain. Towns such as Massanassa, Alfafar, and Benetusser welcomed the help of many volunteers to clear mud and debris from streets and homes, trying to return to normal as soon as possible, on November 2, 2024. #

Children sled down a snow-covered slope on the Faraşin Plateau in Şırnak, Turkey on July 10, 2024. During the summer holidays, people play on the plateau where, in places, thick patches of snow can remain even into July. #

Turkish cousins Ramazan, Ahmet Çelik, and Yunus Feyzullah Bozdemir pose in a car with their farm animals in Kütahya, Turkey, on November 7, 2024. After graduating from university, Ramazan and Ahmet returned to their village during the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to pursue farming, considering it their ancestral profession. Through social-media posts, they also work to encourage other young people to embrace rural life. #

Volunteers with Better Beaches OBX place recycled Christmas trees on dunes to re-nourish the beach in Kitty Hawk, Outer Banks, North Carolina, on January 23, 2024. The group works to maintain the Outer Banks beaches through dune stabilization and beach nourishment. Placing the Christmas Trees on the dunes reduces the number of trees going to the county landfill and helps reinforce the dunes. It takes 3 to 6 months for the trees to naturally bury themselves as sand blows down the shore. #

Musicians play as bathers run into (and out of) the chilly waters of English Bay while celebrating New Year's Day with a Polar Bear Swim in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on January 1, 2024. #

Volunteers gather in a parking lot to help build beds for Sleep in Heavenly Peace, in Pace, Florida, on December 7, 2024. Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a national nonprofit organization that builds and delivers beds to needy children. #

Seven-year-old Naomi Fife holds kittens named Charizard, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Clover, in Louisville, Kentucky. Naomi has been awarded PETA Kids' Hero to Animals Award for taking care of shelter and foster animals. Naomi herself has spent time in the foster-care system and was adopted in 2020. She's volunteered at a local animal shelter since she was 3 and helped her family provide foster care to more than 70 kittens. #