Harry Simmons: 'GMA's Morgan Norwood reports on 6-year-old philanthropist 'making a big difference' in NY

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: The December 30 episode of 'Good Morning America' shared a heartwarming story of a youngster spreading holiday cheer through kindness and philanthropy.

Co-host Stephanie Ramos welcomed ABC Correspondent Morgan Norwood on the show to report on Harry Simmons, a 6-year-old "little boy making a big difference in his Brooklyn community."

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Leading by example

Norwood started her report by mentioning how the vulnerable sections of the US plunged deeper into crisis, with the pandemic and inflation coming one after the other in recent years.

"While non-profit organizations have worked to meet the need, they really had a hard time finding hands to help. Well, 6-year-old Harry Simmons is stepping up, and inspiring other kids to get involved too," she stated.

'The generosity is generational'

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Harry's mother Candice told GMA, "I grew up with a mom who said all the time that service is the rent we pay for living in this world."

These wise words have in turn led her to encourage her child to engage with and support their local community.

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"I'm really fortunate to have him in community organizations that also have 'giving back' as a part of their mission statement," she added.

"I enjoy donating my clothes and toys because it's fun," said Harry, in the most adorable way, and later asked the audience, "Hey friend, would you volunteer please?"

Finding volunteers has become more challenging for communities after the pandemic

According to a study by the US Census Bureau and AmeriCorps, the number of volunteers has dropped by 7% between September 2020 and September 2021. "That is when only 23% of Americans formally volunteered with an organization," stated the report.

Speaking with GMA, Asha Curran, CEO of the non-profit Giving Tuesday, said, "We're obviously concerned about the decline in volunteering and the decline in donor participation, but I think it's important to understand that donation and volunteering trend tends to ebb and flow over the course of time."

The same study has found that "parents with children under 18 formally volunteered at a higher rate" while " kids (between) 16 and 17 had the highest volunteer rate of all age groups."

Digital games to encourage volunteering

The digital platform 'Give As We Grow' is helping children foster a habit of helping others through a play-learning game that is connected to real non-profit organizations.

"In the game, kids are volunteering with non-profits that are existing in real life, so they are learning about giving back to organizations in their community, and they are able to see the impact in the virtual environment," explained Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, Executive Director of Phillips Foundation.

"Our hope is that it doesn't stop there. We want parents to see what their kids are doing in the app, and then help (their) kids translate that into real-life impact," she added.

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