One of the greatest challenges in literacy education is the ability to provide a practical environment for candidates to apply their knowledge, while still working with their peers and under close faculty supervision. One of the greatest needs of resource-stretched schools is the ability to provide students with additional help in literacy learning. A university-based community literacy center is a proposition that can mutually benefit both groups. Literacy education candidates can grow in their abilities through practical experience combined with interactive, socially mediated learning techniques. Children gain additional instruction time geared toward developing the reading and writing skills needed to not only survive, but thrive in today's schools. This paper highlights how our College of Education established an on-campus literacy learning center, the programs we offer, and the impact this center has had on both our literacy candidates and the families of the students entrusted to our program.