December’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Ashley Cabecinha, who plans to give the $1000 away to 100 lucky strangers, encouraging each to do something awesome with the money.

Ashley plans to hand out bright pink envelopes around the city the weekend before Christmas, each containing a fresh ten dollar bill and a short letter encouraging the recipient to “make this awesome tenner count.” The letters will offer up some ideas, including:

• Hide it in your favourite book at the library
  
• Buy a bag of dog biscuits and go make some new friends at the dog park
  
• Give it to someone you see doing a good deed
  
• Add some items to a suspended coffee program
  
• Buy a bouquet of flowers and randomly give them away
  
• Do whatever you think would be awesome
  

The letter will also encourage recipients to tweet about their experience of spreading awesome using the hashtag #AwesomeTenners.

“I saw the Liverpool chapter's #AwesomeFivers campaign,” explains Ashley, “and thought it was brilliant! Why not do the same thing here, to help spread our awesome award even further? I hope this will inspire many people beyond the lucky 100 to perform their own random act of kindness, and up Ottawa's level of awesome to new heights.”

Ashley is a scientist with the federal government, a co-founder of The Meeples Republic, and an Awesome Ottawa trustee.