Photos: XM at Jumpstart's "Read For The Record" event

Yesterday, XM Satellite Radio joined Jumpstart for its "Read For The Record" event at the Smithsonian's Discovery Theater in Washington D.C., to raise awareness of early literacy and the importance of reading to children of all ages.

XM has partnered with Jumpstart as a part of the greater effort to encourage reading in underserved preschoolers across the country. Jumpstart's second annual "Read For The Record" campaign, which launched yesterday, set a new record for the most people reading the same book on the same day. This year's event shattered last year's record of 150,000 participants.

Below are some photos from the Washington D.C. event. It's hard to see, but the hats read "XM Empowers" which is XM's corporate giving and community outreach program.

Joe Madison, on-air host for XM The Power (ch 169), reads The Story of Ferdinand to preschoolers at Jumpstart’s "Read For The Record." The event took place at the Smithsonian's Discovery Theater and featured appearances from U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), U.S. Sen. Robert Casey (D-Penn.), U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI).

XM Satellite Radio’s Chance Patterson looks like he's having a blast reading The Story of Ferdinand to preschoolers at the event.

It's great to see satellite radio being involved in community outreach programs like these. Not only does it serve as good PR (because, let's face it, it does), but on an ethical level it's important for corporations to use their extended resources to give back to the community. Media companies especially have the responsibility to embark on community outreach programs, because they interface directly with the general public. "Serving" the community is part of the territory.

Plus, as you can see from these photos, it could even be fun at the same time...