Grammy-winning singer Rihanna revealed her charitable side when she agreed to help a New York mother-of-two seek for a suitable bone marrow donor.

Hearing the story of 41-year-old Lisa Flynn, who is suffering from an aggressive form of leukemia and needs a donor as soon as possible, the "Umbrella" singer decided it was time she made better use of her fame.

"When I heard about Lisa's plight, my heart broke," the Barbados-born beauty told People magazine. "I said, 'I need to get the word out about Lisa right away.'"

The 20-year-old pop star is working with DKMS, an international donor network based in Tubingen, Germany, to try and find a donor for Flynn.

"I think DKMS is an incredible charity because you can really see the results," says Rihanna, who performed at the DKMS Linked Against Leukemia gala last May for free.

"For Rihanna to even be thinking about helping others and putting herself out there when she is so busy with her career is tremendous," Flynn praised the singer.

By getting involved in such activities, Rihanna said she intends 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."