The Davidson Generals are among three a cappella groups performing at Saturday's benefit.

A Davidson College student group called The Buddy System that helps kids with special needs will host a concert by three campus a cappella groups on Saturday to help raise money for and awareness of children with special needs.

The Generals, The Delilahs, and Androgyny will sing at the event on Saturday, Nov. 20, at 5 p.m., at the college’s Duke Family Performance Hall.

Student participants in The Buddy System meet with a group of children on a weekly basis, serving as young-adult role models and promoting positive social interaction. In addition, they aim to raise awareness about the issues children with special needs and their families face every day, including legislative, scientific, and educational developments in the field.

This Saturday’s concert is the group’s major annual benefit. Tickets are free, but donations are encouraged. The evening is family friendly.

Besides the music, the Buddy Benefit also will include speakers familiar with special needs-related issues and video blurbs featuring some of the children they work with. “Overall, we hope concertgoers will leave with a clearer view of the challenges children with special needs face on a daily basis and we aim to present a variety of viewpoints from people who understand the situation, such as educators and parents,” Billy Powers, founder of the Buddy System, said in announcing the concert.

Donations made at the concert will go toward the Buddy System’s community partner, Angels In Need, a local non-profit dedicated to helping families of children with special needs in the Lake Norman area. Those funds will aid in sending local children with special needs to camps and therapeutic programs.

To reserve free tickets to the Buddy Benefit, please email Billy Powers at bipowers@davidson.edu.

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