It may be New Year's Day, but one Bay area woman is already working toward a Valentine's Day deadline.

It was right before Christmas when we met Amanda Mitchell in her Pinellas Park home, and she was busy doing what she usually does at this time of year: making valentines.

Blame it on the guy she used to date.

"My ex-boyfriend's mom had a bunch of scrapbooking supplies that she didn't want that she gave to me because I like doing crafts and such," Mitchell. "And I was like, it would be fun to make valentines for everybody."

She meant everybody as in her friends. But about seven years ago Mitchell made way too many, so she had a thought.

"I wonder how many beds there are at All Children's? I'll just make some more and send them there," she said.

Her valentines to All Children's Hospital went on for years, and then about four years ago she added St. Jude and St. Joseph hospitals.

Last year almost 1,000 children got a card with a hand-written message.

Mitchell knows hospital rooms. When she was 18, she was diagnosed with brain cancer. She dealt with that devastating news with her usual positive attitude.

"They found the tumor. It was the day before Halloween, and Nov. 15 I had the surgery and that was the end of it," she said.

That was in 2002. She has had no cancer problems since.

And now she's hard at work on this year's batch. The fact that she has never met a single one of these kids is no matter.

"I mean it's always nice to do something for somebody else," Mitchell said. "So that does feel good and I love making valentines."

Here two kitties are always there to help.

"I don't feel that it's that heroic just to be nice, to do something kind for someone," she said. "I think if more people just did that on a daily basis the world would be a better place."