Supporting the Disability Resource Center

For many students, the Disability Resource Center is one of the first places at Purdue where they find someone who understands the barriers they are navigating and can help them figure out what comes next.

Our work begins with access, but it does not have to end there. Gifts to the DRC give us room to build programs, create connections, and respond to student needs in ways that go beyond individual accommodations.

What Your Support Can Make Possible

Philanthropic support gives the DRC flexibility to invest in the parts of the student experience that can make a meaningful difference, especially the things that are difficult to build with limited operating resources alone.

• Peer mentoring and student connection. Students often benefit from having someone who has been there before. Additional support can help us grow opportunities for students to connect with peers, build community, and feel less alone as they navigate Purdue.
• Coaching and skill-building. Support could help expand opportunities for students who would benefit from additional help with organization, executive functioning, self-advocacy, or navigating the demands of college.
• Accessible materials and technology. Gifts can help us invest in tools, resources, and new approaches that strengthen access to course materials and the broader Purdue experience.
• Programs and student experiences. Additional funding can help make possible workshops, events, sensory-friendly programming, community-building opportunities, and other supports shaped by what students tell us they need.
• New ideas we may not be able to pursue otherwise. Student needs change. Flexible support allows us to respond thoughtfully, test new approaches, and build programs that may eventually become an important part of the DRC.

Growing the Peer Mentor Program

One of the areas where additional support could have an immediate and lasting impact is the Peer Mentor Program.

PMP creates opportunities for disabled and neurodivergent students to connect with one another, build relationships, share experiences, and learn from peers who understand what it can be like to navigate Purdue with a disability.

With dedicated support, we could do more. That could include consistent program leadership, expanded mentor and mentee opportunities, additional student programming, workshops, and resources that help the program grow into a stronger and more sustainable source of connection for students.

Long-term philanthropic support could also help us build the staffing and resources needed to give this work the attention it deserves.

Why Giving Matters

The University has a responsibility to provide reasonable accommodations and ensure access for students with disabilities. Philanthropic support does not replace that responsibility.

Instead, it gives us the opportunity to go further. It allows us to create programs, relationships, and resources that enrich the student experience and help students feel supported as whole people, not simply as recipients of accommodations.

Make a Gift

If this work matters to you, we invite you to support the Disability Resource Center through Purdue for Life. Every gift helps us create more opportunities for disabled students to connect, grow, and fully participate in their Purdue experience.

Give to the Disability Resource Center