Boy auctions possessions to raise money for others - KMSP-TV

From his video games to his TV, a 12-year-old Griffin boy is auctioning off most of his belongings to raise money to buy gifts for kids in need.

Matthew Morris said he was struck by the messages he saw on a giving tree at a Griffin Walmart.

"There's no kid on Earth that should ever have to ask for things like underwear and clothes and just something to wear everyday. There were kids asking for washing detergent so kids wouldn't make fun of them at school," said Morris.

Like many 12-year-olds, Matthew's room is decked out. But the TV, the video games -- even the bean bag chair -- are all going away. Matthew sold them to the highest bidder to raise money for those kids he learned about on that giving tree.

"I'm not going to have as much use for this as somebody else and they're going to pay for it and we're going to buy stuff like those gifts over there for the kids," Morris said.

Matthew made an emotional YouTube video and set up an online auction for most of his stuff. Since then, other people around the area have donated more items to sell; he even got the rest of the family involved.

"He would sell everything but the baby brother if he could get away with it," said his mother, Melanie Morris.

Matthew has raised more than $1,000, but he's not done.

"It gives you that warm fuzzy feeling. So far we have about four kids that we are helping and I want to help a lot more than that," Morris said.

He says he needed to clean out his room anyway. Now Matthew has turned that chore into a way to help other children have a Christmas.

Most of Matthew's big items have already sold, but the final day of his auction is Thursday. He's hoping to raise enough money to help some more names on the giving tree with a big shopping run. Click here for more information about Matthew's auction.