Baldwin charity auction has VIP items

William Baldwin is auctioning a day on the campaign trail with Elizabeth Edwards, wife of presidential hopeful John Edwards, and a private falconry lesson with Robert Kennedy Jr. to raise funds for his mother's foundation.

Baldwin personally lined up the VIP packages for an online auction to benefit The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund, which his mother established in 1996 after surviving breast cancer. Baldwin and his brother Alec Baldwin sit on the board of the foundation, which provides grants to researchers.

"I was very lucky ... to get a significant number of people on board and committed," Baldwin told The Associated Press in a recent telephone interview. "And I think that sort of created somewhat of an aura, where people were like, `You know, we wanna be in on this.'"

Baldwin, who stars on ABC's new show "Dirty Sexy Money," said he hustled friends and family _ in a nice way _ to book the packages, which are up for bid on the Charity Folks Web site through the end of October.

Items also include a walk-on role on NBC's "30 Rock," which stars Alec Baldwin, and backstage passes to concerts by Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow.

There's also a chance to join Miley Cyrus _ Hannah Montana herself _ on tour for a day. "That's gonna go for a fortune," Baldwin said.

Baldwin, whose big screen credits include "Backdraft" and "The Squid and the Whale," said he's excited about "Dirty Sexy Money."

"It feels like a comedy, it feels like a drama, it feels like a soap all rolled into one," he said of the show, which premieres Wednesday night.

Baldwin is hoping for a hit.

"Send out the word," he said. "We want big numbers, so I can do this for a couple years."

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On the Net:

Charity Folks:

http://www.charityfolks.com/baldwin

The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund:

http://www.findacure.org

ABC:

http://abc.go.com/index

(This version CORRECTS that Baldwin is auctioning day on campaign trail with Elizabeth Edwards, not John Edwards.)