"Poverty and illiteracy are related – they are the parents of desperation and imprisonment." 

page xxv, Introduction to The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease

When I read the above sentence, I was inspired to become an advocate for early literacy as a way to help end the cycle of poverty. I believe that early literacy is the "root solution", as opposed to the root cause, that can prevent the devastating cascading and multiplying effects of illiteracy. A child not being read to is like the lead domino in the cycle of poverty: a child enters kindergarten with a limited vocabulary and cannot comprehend the teacher's instructions, he is then unable to do well in any of the subjects in school, receives low grades, drops out of high school, works a low-skilled and low-paying job, and lives a life of poverty and dependence on the government. 

Reading is the key to self-sufficiency. Nothing is more effective than early literacy which is the type of early intervention that makes a permanent difference in a child's life. Reading to a child will pay a lifetime of immeasurable dividends.