This paper is a documentary account of a project currently under investigation. The project engages pre-service teachers in a self-study about their participation in community based literacy activities with elementary school children and their families involved in after school programs. Participants in the study are members of a student volunteer group, Destination Literacy, which is subsequently being investigated as an informal, student led organization that conducts literacy activities with children, families and parents. The purpose of this research is to uncover its potentially transformative effects on pre-service teachers' identities as culturally responsive educators. Data gathered from participant pre and post interviews, journal reflections and focus group dialogues are analyzed for themes to document perceptions, changes in attitudes and the nature of the socio-cultural consciousness of pre-service teachers. Preliminary findings from the study have rendered themes that reflect pre-service teacher learning about the lives of children, their understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy, the dynamics of working in a voluntary "extra curricular" group, and their own development as professionals. This paper documents findings derived primarily from a series of focus group sessions in which participants share their perceptions of their activities in Destination Literacy.