December’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Philippe Dessaint-Ash, to support his distribution of free bike lights to other cyclists in the city.

“As an avid downtown cyclist,” explains Philippe, “I find it incredibly important that all commuters share the road responsibly. Over the past three years, I have personally handed out about 2,500 bike lights to cyclists. I generally ride around downtown at night, and when I spot a cyclist without lights I approach them and hand them one or two.”

“The process of handing out lights is a ton of fun,” Philippe continues. “Cyclists love getting lights, and I truly believe that receiving the light encourages people to be more mindful of their impact on the road. And of course, it helps with improving the visibility and safety for of cyclists and commuters in general.”

“I begin planning and saving money in the early months of winter,” says Philippe. “With the $1,000, I should be able to purchase between 700 and 900 lights to hand out in 2016.”

Philippe is a program officer at Employment and Social Development Canada. You can follow his project on Facebook and Twitter.