Willie McCovey Giving Away Hitting Lessons for Charity

For the first time ever Willie McCovey is auctioning off personal hitting lessons to help two local charities.

The first fundraiser to benefit from this once-in-a-lifetime brush with baseball greatness will be Alamo Elementary School's Education Fund Auction Gala, set for 6 p.m. Saturday at Round Hill Country Club.

McCovey will study a video of your swing beforehand and then meet with you and a friend for a coaching session. (All ages welcome to participate!). You'll also be able to bring two items for him to sign. If you're not attending Saturday's event and would like to bid on this package, email Jeff at f555@mac.com.

Visit the gala site to bid on other packages or email Jeff at the above address. The cutoff time for bids is midnight Friday.

The McCovey hitting package will also be auctioned off again this fall when Patch and Martini Sky partner with Lazarex, a Danville-based nonprofit foundation that helps pay for alternative treatments for cancer patients who've been told they have no other options. Patch, Martini Sky and Lazarex have teamed up to hold an online holiday gift auction where participants can bid on a variety of sports memorabilia, vacation packages and local sporting events.

The money raised by the Alamo School Education Fund pays for the support of classroom assistants, technology and science and also helps to fund school music, art and physical education programs.