Rihanna embracing her charitable side

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NEW YORK, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Pop singer Rihanna is focusing her current efforts on helping locate bone marrow donors for needy individuals, including a New York mother-of-two.

While the 20-year-old singer has gained notoriety for her sultry singing voice, it is her dedication to helping sick people such as New York resident Lisa Gershowitz Flynn that is earning her respect, People magazine reported Saturday.

"For Rihanna to even be thinking about helping others and putting herself out there when she is so busy with her career is tremendous," said Flynn, who is need of a marrow donation to treat her cancer.

The "Umbrella" singer told People exclusively that by helping ailing mothers such as Flynn, she hopes to prevent children from losing a parent.

"My own charity, Believe, works specifically with children in need (and with children with leukemia). Children need their mothers more than anything else in the world. Lisa has two children," Rihanna said. "My charity will continue to work with DKMS, because in finding a way to save Lisa's life, we will in turn be saving her children's lives."

DKMS is the largest non-profit marrow donor center in the world, People said.