( CNN ) -- For the past year , Laura Miller has been living a double life of sorts : administrative assistant by day , secret agent of kindness by night . The 32-year-old Duquesne University employee only recently revealed herself as the woman behind `` Secret Agent L , '' a giver of random acts of kindness that has been brightening the days of unsuspecting Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , residents since July 2009 . The project began , Miller says , with the birthday of one of her blog readers who had become a close friend . But instead of asking for the latest book on the best-seller list or an iTunes gift card , the friend suggested Miller perform an act of kindness in her name . So with a single , lavender hydrangea bloom tucked under the windshield wipers of a random vehicle , Secret Agent L was born . Miller used her friend 's birthday idea to launch a new blog documenting subsequent secret missions , posting photos of the gifts -- all inexpensive to fit within her administrative assistant salary -- that have included $ 5 Starbucks gift cards , a roll of quarters at a laundromat and decorative cards emblazoned with uplifting quotes . The gifts are all tagged with a business card printed in `` secret agent-y '' type , she laughs . Her tagline : `` All-Around Swell Chick . '' The blog -- with the help of Twitter -- took off , and Miller now has about 80 `` Affiliated Agents '' across the United States and abroad who are implementing the idea in their cities . Her favorite mission came on Valentine 's Day when she took blank notecards and wrote inspirational messages about how the holiday `` is n't just about romantic love . '' `` I wanted people to know that today 's the day you can celebrate love for your own family , your own friends and your own life , '' she says . `` I left them all over the city , and I just thought it felt so good . '' She tries to do at least one mission a week , but notes `` if I had the money , I would do it every single day , '' calling the project `` one of the greatest honors of my life . '' Miller says she decided to reveal her double life at a coming-out party last month to help advance her charitable efforts . The party was a fundraiser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness , an organization `` near and dear '' to Miller , she told HLN 's `` Prime News '' on Wednesday . More than $ 1,500 was raised , she said . `` I think people are so hungry to not feel alone and not feel weird and that they do n't matter , '' she says . `` I think people really want to feel valued and noticed because there 's so much hurt out there and my project is an attempt to heal some of that . '' She hopes her anonymous gifts will help at least bring smiles to those going through a tough time -- though she never sticks around to see who finds them . `` I think that 's part of the fun -- it 's just sort of putting the gift there and leaving , and just knowing that somebody 's going to get it and it does n't matter who , '' she says . She often receives e-mails afterwards from gift recipients to her secret agent account . `` One of the sort of themes that I 've noticed in these e-mails is that they all seem to find things on days when they 're having a really bad day , '' she says . Mission : Accomplished .
Laura Miller has been giving anonymous gifts of kindness for the past year . She recently revealed herself as `` Secret Agent L '' to expand her charitable efforts . Her project has spread to cities worldwide with the help of `` Affiliated Agents ''