Katie Charboneau, co-chair of Accessibility Queen's, is coordinating a gala event in support of the Adaptive Technology Centre in the Queen's Learning Commons in Stauffer Library.

The student group Accessibility Queen’s (AQ) is expanding its support for the Adaptive Technology Centre (ATC) in the Queen’s Learning Commons in Stauffer Library.

“We would like to create an endowment fund for the ATC because students with disabilities rely on the devices and services offered there for their educational success,” says AQ co-chair Katie Charboneau, Artsci’12.

AQ, a committee under the Social Issues Committee of the Alma Mater Society, has supported funding requests from ATC for several years. AQ believes, though, an endowment is vital so that ATC has a predictable and more easily accessible source of funds for maintaining and upgrading the adaptive technologies, assistive devices and programs.

To help realize the endowment, AQ has created the Red Apple Gala, coordinated by Ms Charboneau and supported by a planning committee of student volunteers and ATC staff members.

Ms Charboneau has used the ATC services during her five-year academic career. In her role as AQ co-chair, she has seen the impact ATC has on hundreds of students who have a variety of disabilities. In a safe and supportive space that is their own, they access equipment and software to help them research, write and study more effectively.

“We commend the students’ desire to leave a lasting legacy of support for the ATC,” says Michele Chittenden, Coordinator, Library Services for Students with Disabilities. “An endowment will help to ensure that we can continue to offer new technologies and services to meet the needs of an increasing number of students with disabilities at Queen’s.”

The Red Apple Gala will occur at the end of the March, one of the final events of Disability Awareness Month at Queen’s.