that's what's going to be continuing through the next few hours. it's going to feel like the teens for the kickoff of the eagles at the linc. so you're going to want to bundle up if you are headed outdoors for the rest of the evening and i'll take look at this cold cold forecast coming up in just a bit. iain. >> monica, thanks. good we want to wish everyone merry christmas hope your holiday has been wonderful. holiday cheer was being spread in germantown today in the form avenue free hot meal. the first christmas dinner was served at face to face after a $5 million renovation. the non-profit is an organization dedicate to do the health, stability and well-being the residents of germantown. >> they have a place where they can come and feel like they're home. they can enjoy the time with us because only thing we try to do is just have a place for everybody when they come they feel like welcoming and serve them with more dignity that's the goal. >> 132-year-old building on east price street started renovations seven months ago. ♪ many people connecting with their faith on this christmas day. here's some video from a mass at the cathedral basilica of saints peter and paul in philadelphia. attending mass on christmas eve and christmas day is a tradition of the catholic religion. hot meal gifts on the menu for residents in need in philadelphia. volunteers at chose zen 300 christmas helping those who are less fortunate. in a show of solidarity the christian ministry teamed up with jewish congregation to on the event it's reminder of a message that dr. martin luther king gave when he spoke at the surge back in 1965. >> part of dr. king's dream was to be able to bring people together. that they could work together. they can walk alongside of each other and regardless of our fame, we do have a commonality in our humanity to be able to share kindness with others in need that's the most wonderful way to celebrate the birth of the savior by extending kindness to someone else. >> chosen 300 ministries an inter denomination al mission known for work distributing more than 150,000 meals year to the homeless of center city, west philadelphia and pottstown. for some christmas tradiions include presents around the tree and staying in their pajamas for others it involves things like movies and going out to eat. a kind of alternate wave spending december 25th. fox 29's shawnette wilson joins you live at philadelphia city hall tonight. shawnette. >> reporter: iain, dinner an movie sound great if you're afraid to be out in the cold. they are finding things to do after being inside most of the day for people who aren't. here at dilworth plaza it is bustling still on christmas day. the main attraction for people who don't mind bracing the cold. while many are home enjoying a holiday dinner others are gettingetting the most out of ty ice skating and sightseeing with hot beverage one of the busiest places in the city since most places are obviously closed. some say it's also great to be here with the kids after they've ripped through gifts and toys and parents are getting cabin fever. >> we decided after dinner to come down and spend the day here in downtown enjoy ourselves. our little ones are skating inside it's ban great zoo time. >> do you feel like there's a lot going on around the city today? >> definitely quiet. but we are making the best out of it and it's nice. >> reporter: all right. so back here live outside dilworth plaza we actually drove around the city a little bit before stopping here. and there weren't a lot of people out again because a lot of places are closed. but as night falls it seems like the city is getting busier, ia iain, so it's quite busy here at dilworth plaza a lot of people want to be out of the house as nighttime comes. >> but it is. shawnette thank you very much. a around the world millions of christians are celebrating the holiday. kitty logan has a run down from london. >> reporter: christmas celebrations are underway here in london and around the world. the royal familiar al tended their tradition church service with big crowds gathered to see prince harry knee an say american actress meghan markle it's a break with long standing protocol that royal partners must wait until they're married before attending christmas services. elsewhere in europe, more unusual christmas traditions included this icy plunge in berlin. and at the vatican, hope francis used his christmas message to paul for pre social security of speaks talks between ice rail lease and palestinian. >> trance tran let us pray that the will to resume dialogue may prevail through the parties an negotiated solution can be reached. >> and in the middle east there was calm as millions of christians attended services including in tehran but the festive atmosphere was overshadowed by recent events in iraq and syria. >> i wish witness birth dave jesus christ the negative thoughts would go away from the minds of those who seek the slaughter of mew hasn't beings and terrorist actions. >> thousands of u.s. service members are also celebrating the holidays overseas. most say they're proud to be serving their country despite being so far from home. >> i feel pretty happy. i wish i was back home but if i was going to be anywhere i'm glad i'm here. >> president trump and and the first lady tweeted a special video message praying for peace and sending their christmas wishes around the world. in london, kitty logan, fox ne news. in bucks county a girl scout troop helped to spread holiday cheer filling backpacks with hats and gloves and scarves to give to people who are less fortunate. our hank flynn went to check it out. >> pioneer give up even if the hardest challenge come by. i never give up. >> i love it. i'm truly amazed, thankful, excited for him. >> reporter: christmas giving flowed buy boy and girl scouts style in penndel today as they gave their annual meal for the homeless girl scout troop 21227 led the way giving away backpacks filled with search winter mys. >> like we put in, um, note books and socks and stuff. >> they don't have anything to do. so people are going to have to give them the stuff and if they don't give it, they might survive the winter. >> people ate as the good vibes flowed but the girl scouts were far from done. >> we have a announcement to make. >> they adopted john michael and his mother kathleen who struggled with homelessness over the last four years. john michael given tickets to see his idols at the wwe smack down. >> because they fight each other in the ring and they never he give up. >> his mother had better news even if just for now. >> his christmas list this year for the first time he asked for a home. and we did get placed through the grace of god temporarily. >> at the end of the day the passion of giving isn't hard to find. it's written very plainly on the face of ten and 11-year-old kids who do it with gust tow because they like the way it feels. maybe we can all learn something. in penndel, hank flynn, fox 29 news. ♪ pretty much all of philadelphia is hoping for one thing, this christmas day, that is eagles win tonight the birds come out on top over the oakland raiders at the linc they have clinched home field advantage throughout the entire playoffs. that would be awesome gift. our brad sattin joins us live in south philadelphia with more on this tonight. brad? >> reporter: iain, you think the game was ten minutes away because this parking lot is packed. it's still about upwards of three and a half hours from now, we ran into these folks from south philly in abington and we are hang and out by the fire. it's the place to be. the 12 and two birds going against the six and eight raiders. within the game, of course, iain mentioned they have home field advantage through the playoffs. and extra time to get healthy. the eagles after being away for three weeks, finally back home here. the raiders out of playoff contention and all this means at the birds are ten-point favorites here. it's a very bitter cold night here. a lot of tents we see are blowing over but you know what, these fans are psych for tonight's game. we asked them wouldn't they rather just be home on a christmas night with their family and the warmth? they tell us no way. >> we try to put up a tent earlier and the wind was too hard we were like, all right, scratch that. but yes! >> you're out here plenty early before the game. >> yeah. the gates didn't open until 1:30 we got here like 1:00. okay. guys, we're ready. >> realize how good carson wentz is. now we got to have foles take us to the promise land. >> reporter: can he get done? >> i hope so. i don't know. we'll see. we're going to clinch tonight. >> reporter: back live again you guys got eagles chant for us. >> we got it. >> e-a-g-l-e-s! whoo! >> safe to say the fans are ready, hopefully the birds are ready to go. a big night ahead game time about 8:00 their. back to you guys. >> back to you iain. >> they're not excited at all. all right. it was not going to happen then it was again. but washington's classic in the delaware was scrapped the reason why it didn't happen. that's strata hedged let's take look at doylestown bucks county. monica is fine tuning her forecast just minutes away. ♪ michael: i'm thankful that i'm alive and have a second chance. james: i'm thankful for the help and the opportunity that i received. darlene: i'm thankful to be able to help people in crisis. vanessa: i'm thankful that addiction is treatable, and that help is available. christie: new jersey is experiencing a heroin epidemic fueled by opioid painkillers. but if you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, i want you to know: we are here for you. this holiday season, choose help. call 844 reach nj or visit reachnj.gov. annual reenactment much george washington crossing the delaware river had to be canceled today because of those high winds. organizers originally were concerned that the event wouldn't go on because the shallow levels of the river. but a local group as we told you donated row boats that could handle the low water, but ultimately mother nature had other plans for the event that is usually scene by thousands of people. happening now, across the country, more than 8 million of people signed up for 2018 health care coverage during obamacare open enrollment season. enrollees from certain states were only given half the length of time to sign up compared to previous years. the final numbers of the exact signees for 2018 will not be known for a few months. meantime the trump administration is continuin cons flurry of activity at the un. fox's lucas tomlinson has more from the pentagon. >> reporter: the draft resolution has been adopted unanimously. >> another round of un sanctions targeting north korea. passed overwhelmingly by the security council friday. drawing a new warning from the north monday saying if the u.s. wants to quote live safely it will abandon its efforts to end north korea's nuclear program. calling the latest round of sanctions an act of war. >> translator: we will further console date our self-defense seive nuclear deterrents aimed at eradicating the us nuclear threat. >> reporter: sanctions were negotiated closely with china, north korea only remaining major ally. chinese responded to the new threat by calling on both sides to back down. indicating they may be ready to pull back on economic pressure towards the north. >> translator: we call on the relevant countries to exercise restraint and make positive and constructive efforts to deescalate the tensions on the peninsula. >> reporter: sanctions are part of year end diplomatic flurry at the un up clueing a surprise christmas eve announce many by am boss dornick key haley the world body agreed to cut its budget by nearly $300 million next year. and significantly reduce its management and support operations. but the trump administration warns, the new level of engage many at the un doesn't mean the u.s. is giving up on its own sovereignty. >> un vote is really not the only factor that the administration would take into consideration in dealing with our foreign relations. >> reporter: haley also workinworking on deal to increae efficiency at the un while protecting america's interest. lucas tomlinson, fox news. happy christmas for one familiar until california who thought they had lost a box of priceless family photographs and letters. fox's eric rucker has the story. >> this one was kind of cool. >> reporter: hours before christmas and connie hall already has her present. >> will not be a better christmas present. this is awesome. >> reporter: thanks to the roseville police department. >> basically a pile of garbage about to be thrown away. >> reporter: and the internet. >> i got your letter sometime ago. >> reporter: fox 40 brought you the story of this box inside were correspondents letters and pictures and post cards dating back from the 1920s to the 197 1970s. police found the box at a homeless encampment and desperate to finder owner. >> it would be even greater if we could give this back to the family. >> reporter: many of the letters were sent from a jimmy johnson. hall's great uncle. so how did this go from hall's possession to a homeless camp site. >> hall says it all started when she was recently cleaning out her garage. >> this ended up in the trash, um, and after i put everything back in the garage, you know i didn't realize this was missing. report roar hall believes a homeless person may have found it in the trash and left it at the homeless sight. >> good news. this might be it. >> reporter: fortunately it was all returned this past friday. hall's great uncle jimmy and her great aunt hill today both in the military. one of johnson's letters to family came just days after the pearl harbor bombing while he was stationed on the island. >> it's kind of cool. this is the war department. >> reporter: after the recent media coverage with police, word started to spread. eventually hall got a call from her mother with the surprising news. >> you know, our pictures our family pictures are with ros roseville pd. i went, okay. i'm so busted somehow. >> reporter: tonight the once mystery box is back with its owner. hall says the whole ordeal has brought her family even closer. >> you know what neat i got to connect with old family members too i hadn't connected with on facebook. all right. let's get back to your fox 29 weather authority. as we take live look at ben franklin parkway. we are in for a cold week that polar vortex scott way back. your forecast just 15 seconds away. certainly is going to get colder and colder. so if you're not liking this, make sure you bum up over the next few days. get an extra blanket on the bed temperatures will be dropping. 33 degrees right now. high today 39. but with those winds out of the west 18 miles per hour, it's making it feel much colder. so here's the temperatures across the region. just have to show you most of us are near freezing or below it. like 32 degrees in millville. 29 for those of us in allentown. reading coming in at 28. but then again you factor that that within sometimes gusting up to 20, 25 miles per hour. it feels more like it's the teens all the way from lancaster up into allentown low 20s for philadelphia and millville. so for those of you at the linc well you're already there. but funk people at the linc they certainly need to bundle up. because it's a cold one. good thing we don't need the snow gear. at this point we just are seeing a few flurries out there. nothing really accumulating or sticking because it's really light if anything we're we'll stay dry for most of the evening and into the overnight. so that by tomorrow morning, what we're looking at is partly sunny skies. it's going stay sunny through the next few days actually through our tuesday and even into wednesday. thursday is also going to be mainly dry forecast. but what the problem is going to be is this arctic air. so really bottomed out in that jet stream really dropped off to the south of us. and that ushered in colder air the thing is if it's going to be reinforced by a few shots of colder air as we head into our wednesday, into our thursday, our highs are only going to be in the 20s. we do have some nice sunshine to look forward to but highs will only be in the 20s over the next few days. now tomorrow we're still expecting to hit the low 30s. about 33 degrees. but it still will be breezy, those winds out of the west at ten maybe even 15 miles per hour. and here's what i was talking about. that drop in temperatures. we're in the 20s on wednesday. 29 is your high. mostly sunny. thursday sunshine again, 27 is your high. notice your overnight temperatures into the teens. so overnight will be brutally cold. during the daytime very chilly. even cold with that friday we're picking up a snow chance on friday that continues no saturday. a lot could change about this forecast. make sure you stay tuned to fox 29 weather authority. >> iain. joy to the world the eagles game has come now we're getting closer toughie seeing if the birds will unwrap one last christmas gift tonight. coming up nick foles talks about the players playing against the raiders since that infamous day in 2013. plus how the birds are celebrating today before they take the field. that's next. ♪ what do you think? hey, think ben will like it? yeah, was i the only one hearing the angelic music? i'm serious, i never know what to get him. just tell me you got him fios too. sigh. mrs. layne, fios is a 100% fiber-optic network. that, plus this sick console, he'll be like whaaaaaattt. your new tech is best on the 100% fiber optic network. so get fios. now just $79.99 per month with a 2-year price guarantee with a 2-year agreement. [ splash ] [ horn sounds ] dang! ok, i gotta run. hey, wait, there's something i need to tell you- dang. dang! dang! dang. dang. see zero in a whole new way. get zero down, zero deposit, zero first month's payment, and zero due at signing on select volkswagen models. now with the people first warranty. ♪ santa claus has come and gone this christmas day but good old saint nick foles still has to make his route tonight and he's carrying the most important gift of all for the eagles, home field advantage in the playoffs. foles has had some experience playing against oakland before. last time he started for the birds against the raiders he threw seven touchdowns back in 2013. so before he faces them again he reflected on what happened in that game and how he can use that again tonight. >> i remember that year. our team was really just trying to figure out our identity at that point. um, we had ups and downs and we were trying to put it altogether, and i look back on that day that was a day we put everything together, and that aha moment we can do. we know who we are. we know we can be explosive, and we just sort of took off at that point. >> the eagles did get time to spend with their families this morning and of course what's christmas without some matching pajamas zach ertz and his family donning plaid. if only they could wear these on the field tonight. they're going with black jersey. the first joel the sixers did say was to bring philly a win this christmas day. so as the sixers traveled to new york to take on the knicks wouldn't it be -- epp bid help the team going carl rolling all the way home. sixers down one in the second. couple of knicks bum nap each other wide open joel embiid knocks down the three. he had 25 points today. fourth quarter now sixers up two. jj reddick misses the three.& gets his own rebound back and here's take two. yup. that's in. he finish with 24. sixers up five. now up two. tj gets the steal, pass it ahead to ben simmons. he's going to finish with a dunk. sixers win it, 105 hypenate. >> we needed to. um, i think during this streak this losing streak we were winning towards the end the last two or three minutes just broke down. we didn't tonight. credit to us. >> i am in love with those match bag jam mass. >> i know. they look so cool. >> i'm so upset that there's no ugly christmas uniform for the eagles tonight. they're going with black jerseys in case you didn't see that. >> i do love the black at home. >> with nick foles against the raid it. >> exact the. if you're going to go there, i know you're trying to head down there. it's going to be cold. >> it's going to be frigid. >> it's windy. >> that's problem. those poor people can't put their tents up. >> okay. so for tomorrow we've got 33 degrees as your high. it's partly sunny. not all that bad even though we're still below average. take look at this. the bottom drops out we're talking upper 20s wednesday, thursday, friday. all the way through the rest of your seven day. overnight even worse. only in the teens. so people are going to want to bundle up and stay bundled up for the rest of your seven day forecast. and now we're even adding in some snow. getting a lot of questions about this forecast. >> right. >> as we head into next weekend. that's new year's eve. >> exactly good i'm heading to the poconos i'm worried about my travel up to the poconos. >> you should be it looks like. could it change. we do know it will be cold but we'll be back and see you at six com. come back and join us. ♪ ♪ so many are doing amazing things in our community quietly and so often they end up overlook. not tonight. tonight on this for goodness sake special presentation our bill anderson is going to introduce to us people making a difference. first up, we're shining the light on businesses that are giving people a second chance after they ended up behind bars. >> housekeeping is cleaning up behind mess so why complain. i'm getting paid for it. it's a job. >> reporter: to see 61-year-old john barr happy while he does does his new job cleaning up around city hall his past would never occur to you. >> my attitude wasn't correct. how i couldn't deal with people. how i would get angry. how i would use my boxing skills. >> reporter: he doesn't make excuses for the fight that turned ugly and sent him to jail for seven years. but now the a an age where most are planning their retirement, he's just trying to rebuild his life. >> little cold out today. you're doing hard work. and still you smile. >> yes. because i'm alive. i'm free. i have a paycheck. >> reporter: john is one of the people the city wants us to consider as they push for ex offender opportunities convincing people they deserve another chance always but especially now during the holiday season. >> i don't have to act out because someone disrespect me. love and forgive them and pray for them. >> reporter: roughly 50,000 people return to philadelphia every year from prison. so whether or not you like it, i is impacting your neighborhood and especially during the holidays we need more employees bike john fosses team clean to help address it. >> when donna entered the work force she struggled. it wasn't a legal struggle but with no work, she started cleaning houses. now the owner avenue successful cleaning company she never forgot her own challenges. >> long ago, someone gave me a chance. gave me an opportunity to suck succeesucceed and i believe in g it forward. >> reporter: approaching 1,000 employees and with contracts throughout seat, donna's team clean is committed to giving ex offender that is chance they need. >> when they come in that lobby, their head is down. they find out they have a job, when they leave out of this office and i can see them walk the pathway down there they walking different. >> john and team clean are not alone. but they are example of the difference the city hopes we can make in each of our communities if now during the holidays we consider giving a second chance for goodness sake. i'm bill anderson. ♪ from that to this. we've got a program in philadelphia where children are learning from the generations that have been there and done that. it's called foster grand parenting. as bill found out, it's helping young people succeed. there are children that need special help. >> go out there and serve the youth because, you know, hey, these kids out here they need it. >> reporter: more and more we're aware of the challenges that people in our area are facing and we're starting to become aware of the people who are stepping up every day to address them. then there are some circumstances like today. problems we may not be aware of that we likely can solve if we just get the word out. >> we're looking for nurturing kind seniors who have the need to be in child's life and be part of the change they wish to see. >> i've lived in philly my whole life and i'm embarrassed to admit i didn't know about the foster grandparents program but tuesday they began looking for volunteers again. >> we are doing a recruit many effort with the foster grand parent program which is federally funded grant that matches low income seniors ages 55 plus with children that suffer from what's identified as exceptional needs. >> reporter: young school children and even teachers welcome seniors into classrooms to help out. >> thank you so much. >> reporter: that is recruited and trained today emotional and community commitment is what really stood out. >> pop pop. >> yes. they call me pop pop. >> reporter: tolbart is one of the return foster grand parent. >> i'm a recent widow err. me and might have wee were best friends for 34 years so i wanted to put purpose back in my life. >> reporter: helping in the schools has done it. mary and ann were training today and shared the message that we should also consider this worthwhile program. >> here these babies with difficulties but they can learn. we just can't push them aside. they need somebody to come in and just be supportive to help encourage them they can succeed in life. >> reporter: scenes yours do receive a small stipend and expenses but the rewards clearly much greater. >> it's something that i can do to help to assist with the teachers, with the children, the students and nobody could be left behind. >> if you can be that person to be like a positive role model for them, you know, i recommend that do you it. >> reporter: don it for goodness sake. i'm bill anterior s. anderson.♪ playing a symphony with broken instruments. yeah. and it's all to save the arts in philly schools. it's pretty cool. it's next. ♪ the concept sounds strange but the goal is great. a philadelphia group has formed a symphony orchestra comprised of broken instruments. >> back in 2007, the support for arts across the entire school district of philadelphia was $1.3 million. fast forward ten years, instrumental music in the school district of philadelphia had a budget of $50,000 total. >> reporter: $50,000 for hundreds of schools and when you hear that, it's easy to understand why so many students are doing without learning to play instruments and the impact it has. >> we walked into this, you know, this beautiful old gymnasium that was just stuffed with broken pianos, um, so i started reaching out to the district and saying, how many broken instruments are there? they started to compile lists for us, and that's when we saw the list grow to over a thousand broken instruments. >> reporter: so the point is to get all of to us recognize the importance of music in the schools in a really unique way. they're trying to get you will all of to care maybe even help repair these instruments and doing with an orchestra of broken instruments. >> can you give us a solo? >> yes. um, literal system broken auction i can do is like. >> rolanda. >> ♪ >> teyona and bearable playable clarinet. >> ♪ >> and john with one string. are joining hundreds playing a symphony at the 23rd street armory to raise awareness. >> this is a great opportunity to help the music program get started back into the schools. >> i love the project. i love that it, um, helps the schools and it brings all these different people together. >> reporter: do you have any musical background. >> absolutely not. [ laughter ] ♪ >> reporter: symphony is made up of volunteers, parents, students, and professional musicians and listening to them practice clearly made their point. broken instruments played alone, not great. ♪ >> reporter: but when the community works together, things improve quickly. >> ♪ >> reporter: symphony of broken instruments come up with numerous way that is all of us can help. >> they can adopt an instrument by going to our website. they can play in the orchestra. they can volunteer. they can show up for the concert and all those different ways are ways in which people can actively see their engagement and they're involve many making a difference. >> reporter: this is another example of a problem that many of us are aware of and a possible solution that all of us can participate in for goodness sake. i'm bill anderson. ♪ athletes kneeling in protest pick up steam this year. so did the controversy surrounding it, though. our bill anderson went to trenton where people in the community wanted to shine the light on what they say this is all about. >> the debate rages across the country. should professional amulets stand, who should they kneel, what does it mean? >> reporter: as the debate about kneeling during the national anthem continues, the point of the initial protest has largely been lost. >> we're not here to divide. we're here to come together as a unified community as you see standing with me law enforcement and our community leaders from across the state. >> reporter: initially this was about deteriorating relationships and violent encounters between police and communities and what if anything can be done about it. >> take practical concrete step forward. a step that we pray will decrease the likelihood that police civilian encounters become violent. >> reporter: today in trenton, police, athletes, community, they all came together to try to move this from just discussion, just debate to some sort of action. the new initiatie is caused safe stop featuring police, activists sharing basic tips that can help keep traffic stops calm and safe. >> traffic stops are easy when there's mutual respect and understanding. >> one of the people was former giants all pro jesse arm instead. he's obviously aware of of the high profile nfl protests but thinks that people also need to hear what may seem obvious to many of us. >> at the end of the day, everybody in this room want to make it home to your family and that's one thing we all got to remember. >> reporter: simple statements that hopefully remind us there's more that unites us than there is that divides. but make no mistake. attorney general perino is under no dilution that commercials will solve the divide that exi exist. >> i think that if the only thing we were doing was asking communities to get educated about what to do and not to do in police encounters we'd be failing. >> reporter: he reminds us that new jersey is also taking several steps directed at police action. >> it comes on the heels of four or five very significant steps. all of which were tape by law enforcement and directed at law enforcement. >> reporter: but did he have one request for all of us in media. to share with celebrities and athletes. >> want to do something other than just talk about whether people should stand or kneel or stay in the locker room and want to do something concrete and meaningful. we ask them to raise their hand. >> raise your hand. they'll come get you and get you involved with safe stop for goodness sake. i'm bill anderson. ♪ still ahead families stocked um with groceries completely free. imagine that. imagine this. one guy is making it happen. michael: i'm thankful that i'm alive and have a second chance. james: i'm thankful for the help and the opportunity that i received. darlene: i'm thankful to be able to help people in crisis. vanessa: i'm thankful that addiction is treatable, and that help is available. christie: new jersey is experiencing a heroin epidemic fueled by opioid painkillers. but if you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, i want you to know: we are here for you. this holiday season, choose help. call 844 reach nj or visit reachnj.gov. ♪ during difficult times some families struggle with simply getting their next meal. but one man has made it his mission to give away those groceries free. our bill anderson shows us how. >> people on hard times like myself, i'm out of work right now. just had surgery. times are tough. i'm retired so every little bit helps. >> reporter: more than one out of every four people in philadelphia live below the poverty line and several more are close to it. that means they may not be sure where things as basic as their next meal are coming from. >> i live by myself and every little bit that i can get helps. >> reporter: twice week every week west philadelphia's trying to help. people line up here to shop. shop probably isn't the right term. because this grocery store, it doesn't accept any money. >> we come out and we help provide people in the community with frees groceries. >> reporter: ridley is the founder of community solutions cdc hems helping neighborhoods any way he can but also a family man. raised blocks from the grocery give away so he understands personally the needs. >> i have a family, um a wife, daughters, i know how it is to sand in the grocery store and have to make life or death decisions. >> reporter: he knows the decisions so he doesn't want people to have to make them. it's an honor system. no background checks, no need to qualify. until the food runs out, if you need it, come get it. >> i can take a pay -- get a bill paid, you know, without having to spend the extra money on food. >> reporter: most of the food comes from local grocery stores and farm donations. some they pay for. they're responsible for the transporation of the food, the quality of the food, but he and the team what they do is simple thing because it's a necessary thing. >> i didn't have to create the will. i took something that somebody was going to get rid of and i gave it to somebody who wanted it. >> reporter: that simple but live changing act takes place tuesdays at shepherd and saturdays at three other locations and the more donors help, the more people they can serve. simple things we can all do for goodness sake. i'm bill anderson. ♪ next story anything but simple. she spent her life pretending to be a boy to chase a dream. and now after escaping the taliban, she's here in the us sharing her story. >> it was not the culture that girls can hang out and get education, go to school or anything like that. >> reporter: seeing how happy world ranked squash player maria was playing squash with students at agnes irwin school today, you'd never guess all that she went through growing up in pakistan. >> got rid of my girly clothes and burnt them. cut my hair. i was very young about age four and a half. >> reporter: she lived in an area of pakistan she says was largely controlled by the taliban. breaking out of submissive women's rolls was not only frowned upon but in some cases dangerous so she made the decision that she would no longer be maria. >> most of my life i grew up with a boy's name my father gave me that day i burn the clothes. >> they lived most of her childhood has a boy it was her love and success in squash that let her secret out. >> in squash i had to present birth certificate to the academy to get -- to become member. and participate in the tournament. so the real, n way everybody came to know about me that i'm a girl. >> reporter: at that point things got bad quickly. >> were you safe? >> i didn't feel safe after that. before i safe but as soon as, you know, my true identity was revealing in was safe any more. >> reporter: maria and her family are safe now. even with everything she went through, her point isn't for people to feel bad for her, she wants them to be empowered by her story and it sounds like it's working. >> it's just really makes you realize how lucky you are to, um, have the opportunities that we have. it's something you take for granted sometimes. but just like listening to her it's so humbling. >> reporter: as she continues to travel, speaking and compet competing in squash, she also hopes that in some way she's changing the outlook for women in general. >> the more women are involved in society in decision-making, you know, i think they can make the world more peaceful and happier. report fort that happens, then she believes all of her experiences were worth it for goodness sake. i'm bill anderson. ♪ next a community surprise unlike any other. back in a moment. ♪ ♪ physical familiar who'll lost everything in a fire has new hope. our bill anderson met group of strangers who are giving them the surprise of a lifetime for goodness sake. >> as i lay in the emergency room at einstein, my niece she was home with my children. center me text message telling me that my, um, underneath my bed was on fire. they lost pretty much everything in fire. they have no idea that they're about to get surprised by a group of strangers. >> we basically don't have nothing but what you see in this living room. there's nothing upstairs. >> reporter: she didn't have renter's insurance because she was out on unpaid medical leave and money was tight. since then it's ban struggle just to try to get back on her feet. >> from march until august of this year, we were in the shelter. >> reporter: over time she's managed to raise and save enough money to get her familiar until another house but they have no furniture. no winter clothes. really nothing but her story got to a friend that we met during another for goodness sake segment. >> we actually went to her house last year and we actually gave the whole family, um, thanksgiving gift baskets so ever since last year she just became part of my family. >> reporter: kenny and other friends shared the family's story son while thelma thought we were there to help her spread the word about a gofundme account, this happened. >> to keep moving forward and not to look at what -- what i see. >> hey. >> hi. >> hi. >> hello. >> hi. >> um we're in the neighborhood of or is called today's furniture we heard about your loss and we're sorry to hear about your loss and we're willing to donate furniture for you guys. may not be much but it's something we're willing to from the. >> some furniture is a huge understatement. a local furniture business pulled up in a truck and donated bedroom sets for every room an kitchen set. a local car dealer gave them clothes and a gift certificate for groceries. both businesses said they did it just because it was the right thing to do. >> we're in the community. we want to help her out. it's devastating what happened to her. >> we want to give back every chance that we can when we hear about something this bad happening. >> reporter: thelma after a year of horrible luck was outwardly thankful. >> thank you so much. ♪ >> reporter: family in bad shape. a friend and two businesses with no incentive to help except they can. so they did for goodness sake. i'll bill anderson. ♪ and that is a wrap on this special ed dig of for goodness sake with bill anderson. so many people in our community doing amazing things under the radar. it gives us hope and inspires even motivates. have a wonderful rest of your evening. ♪ we take look outside our studios here in old city we hope wherever you've had to enjoy the day with friends and family. thanks for joining us tonight. i'm iain page. while it was not complete white christmas, it was certainly a cold one. remember that polar vortex. well it is coming back. let's get over to our fox 29 weather authority and head back outside. this time to cape may county and wildwood. those winds were wild out there today. let's check in with fox 29 meteorologist monica cryan with a first look at our windy cold forecast. mon nay. >> wildwood which we just were looking at some of the highest wind speeds at 20 miles per ho hour. and also philadelphia pretty high at 25 miles per hour. so you factor in those cold temperatures into the upper 20s, but that wind is making it feel much worse it already feels like it's in the teens in philadelphia. i know we have a lot of people at the linc right now tailgat tailgating. i hope you're bundled up enough. because it's going to be brutally cold through the rest of the game. 17 degrees what it feels like in pottstown. it feels like low 20s for millville, atlantic city and this is going to be the forecast for the rest of the evening. temperatures are going to be dropping those winds staying pretty breezy and so most of the evening and into the overnight is going to feel like the teens and in some areas like the poconos it's going to feel like the single digits. now coming up a look at the full forecast not only is it going to stay cold, but it's also really through the overnight going to be in the teens. i'm not talking about wind chill i'm talking about temperatures in the teens over the next few days. vile a look at the full forecast and how long this cold lasts for in just a bit. iain. >> thanks. we want to wish everyone a mer