SHE COULD CALL IT her good-works tour, but Barbadian singer Rihanna is calling it A Girl's Night Out.

"Girls always have more fun; so I thought it was a great cause for me," said the 20-year-old Girls Gone Bad singer, during an interview with People after a performance last Wednesday night at Chicago's Vision nightclub.

With her charity The Believe Foundation, Rihanna and Island Def Jam, "got together with a local foundation in three cities and Escada and [the label's fragrance] Moon Sparkle" to sponsor the event, she said. "It was amazing."

Another Girls Night Out concert was yesterday at San Francisco's Ruby Skye and the last is April 9 at New York City's HighLine Ballroom.

Having first performed on stage for 40 minutes to a very happy crowd last Wednesday in Chicago, Rihanna headed upstairs to a private lounge area, where she did a meet-and-greet with children, signing autographs and taking pictures with them.

"When I was young and I would watch television and I would see all the children suffering, I always said, when I grow up I want to help," she said explaining why she started The Believe Foundation.

"Not long after I was in the position where I could help. I started to visit all these children's hospitals and I have a soft spot for kids. I just want to help and make sure they are happy. They can come to a Rihanna concert or have toys or gifts at Christmas," she said.

She said the foundation "just branched off and we are able to help kids who are less fortunate".

Believe gives children a chance by providing everything from medical attention for children who can't afford it, school supplies for children in poorly funded public schools, toys for children who are terminally ill and clothes for children in homeless shelters.

Rihanna added: "I just want to travel all over the world with the kids. As a kid, the thing I hated most was disappointment; so I never want to disappoint kids. I always want to put a smile on their faces.
Kids are the future."

Earlier this month, Rihanna also played a major role in a drive that went into helping Lisa Gershowitz-Flynn of New York find a donor for a bone-marrow transplant. (people.com)