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XM Radio and Jumpstart Challenge D.C. Residents to Help Deliver a New Book to More than 4,000 Underprivileged D.C. Preschoolers


WEBWIRE

D.C.-based XM Satellite Radio is challenging District residents and businesses to help provide books for 4,000 preschoolers in D.C.’s low-income communities.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070313/XMLOGO )

XM is partnering with Jumpstart, the national nonprofit organization that provides early education to at-risk children. XM and Jumpstart are seeking donations to purchase copies of the children’s book The Story of Ferdinand to be distributed to D.C. preschools.

You can visit http://www.xmradio.com/jumpstart to make a donation towards the purchase of a book to be delivered to children locally. The Web site also lets children and parents listen to The Story of Ferdinand as read by poet Dr. Maya Angelou, singer-actress Mandy Moore, Indy racecar driver Danica Patrick and XM public radio icon Bob Edwards.

XM has donated 2,000 books to meet this challenge, and is encouraging local residents and businesses, along with XM employees and subscribers, to donate copies of the book. The project is being coordinated by Jumpstart and XM Empowers, the company’s corporate giving and community outreach program.

In addition to the local book drive, XM is working with nonprofit Jumpstart on its Read for the Record campaign, a nationwide effort to address the gap in early childhood education. Jumpstart’s Read for the Record will take place nationwide on September 20 when hundreds of thousands of children and adults will all read the same book on the same day. The D.C. event will take place at the Smithsonian’s Discovery Theater and feature an appearance from U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), among others. Joe Madison, on-air host of XM’s The Power (XM Channel 169), will read The Story of Ferdinand to children in attendance.

Jumpstart’s year-long mentoring program works to bridge the gap that exists in early childhood education. Approximately one-third of American children enter school unprepared to succeed, with low-income children being particularly at-risk due to lack of one-to-one reading activities.

“XM is proud to join Jumpstart’s Read for the Record to help combat the early education gap, particularly among children within the District,” said Chance Patterson, VP of corporate affairs, XM Satellite Radio. “XM is committed to improving the quality of life in our community, which is why we set the goal to get a book in the hands of preschoolers that need one most.”

Other XM programming dedicated to early education includes:
-- Thursday, September 13 at 4 p.m. ET on Take Five (XM 155) -- Rob
Zeaske, senior vice president of external relations for Jumpstart, and
Mark Nieker, president of the Pearson Foundation, will join XM host and
New York Times correspondent Lisa Belkin for a discussion on
volunteerism on “Life’s Work.”

-- Saturday, September 15 at 4 p.m. ET on Take Five (XM 155) -- Kim
Davenport, senior vice president of education for Jumpstart, and Brenna
Hagen, Corps member for Jumpstart, will discuss The Story of Ferdinand
on “Fiction Nation,” the weekly show hosted by Kim Alexander.

-- Sunday, September 16 at 8 p.m. ET on XMKiDS (XM 116) -- Mandy Moore can
be heard reading The Story of Ferdinand on “Talespinners,” the
children’s show that features celebrities narrating their favorite
classic tales.

-- Monday, September 17 at 4 p.m. ET on Take Five (XM 155) -- XM on-air
host and journalist Judith Warner will talk to Dr. Susan Neuman,
Jumpstart board member and professor at the University of Michigan
School of Education, about the early education gap on "The Judith
Warner Show"



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