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•	The opening of the Universal Center for Employment Training, which began training

in 5 curriculums and includes partnership with the University of Pennsylvania to provide customized job training to residents in West Philadelphia;

•	Contractor for the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare to assist

100 welfare recipients to make the transition from welfare to work as a part of their Community Solutions Programs;

•	Successful application submission to the Pennsylvania Department of Education

for the planning of a charter school;

•	Successful application to the School District of Philadelphia for a charter to establish

the Universal Institute Charter School , a Kindergarten through Grade 8 school;

•	The planning and financing for a Grocery! Deli owned and operated

by Universal (construction is scheduled to begin in April 2000);

•	The completion of The Business Support Center, a project under construction

and scheduled to open March 2000;

•	Successful application submission to the State of Pennsylvania, through the

Governors Office, for a $6 million grant for the construction of a Performing Arts Center in partnership with the Point Breeze Performing Arts Center;

a Selection as one of Philadelphia Neighborhood Development Collaborative’s grant recipient for a 3-year program that provides operational support to the

organization.

Since Universal’s inception, Universal has solidified a leadership role in the South Philadelphia community by creating community partnerships and alliances. Universal recently formed SPEED (South Philadelphia for Employment and Economic Development), another collaborative effort to develop a comprehensive workforce strategy tied to economic development. There are many other activities in pre-development:

a	Universal continues to work on the development of the Universal

Entertainment Complex; this project, which includes a three screen movie theater, a three-hundred room hotel, an African American Museum, a twenty-five hundred seat live theater, a parking lot, two theme restaurants, a Gospel Hall of Fame, and retail shops, will be built on a nine acre site. Pre-development activities are scheduled to be completed in May 2000; and

a	Universal continues to work on a comprehensive, strategic plan

that will focus on: developing corporate goals and capacity building; evaluating new opportunities in view of the community and surrounding resources; and creating a strategy to develop funding sources to achieve strategic objectives.

Basic Skills Training1

Student Classroom Activities.