What do you do when you have a child diagnosed with Autism? What would you do? Would you do nothing? Would you help? Would you donate money? Would you participate in the cause? Would you run a marathon? How about running 61 marthons?

Operation Jack is the mission taken on by Sam Felsenfeld to race at least one marathon a week in 2010 (61 total for the year) to generate nationwide attention and fund raising efforts for Train 4 Autism, an organization that works tirelessly to raise money for Autism charities. On Saturday, October 2, the night before the Lewis & Clark Marathon in St. Charles, Mo., at least two members of the St. Louis Cardinals will participate in a fundraiser to benefit Operation Jack.

Skip Schumaker and Adam Wainwright will both sign autographs for an hour, starting approximately two hours after the completion of the Cardinals’ 12:10 p.m. game that day against the Colorado Rockies. The event will take place at Hot Shots in Fenton located at: 950 S Highway Drive, Fenton, MO 63026. Autograph tickets will be issued with a $61 donation ($1 for every marathon Sam Felsenfeld is running for Operation Jack in 2010) to the Operation Jack Autism Foundation. With an autograph ticket, Schumaker and Wainwright will each autograph one item for you. Only 100 autograph tickets will be available, on a first-come, first-served basis. You must bring your own items to be autographed. The players will not pose for individual photographs.

To make a donation, go to www.operationjack.com click on the “Donate Now!” link at the top of any page. Autograph tickets will be distributed at the event. The minimum donation level will increase to $65 on September 15 and $70 on the day of the event, pending availability. Depending on the speed of the line on the day of the event, additional autograph tickets may be available.

In addition to the autograph session, the event at Hot Shots will also feature:

■ Soft-tip dart tournament, $10/entry with 50% of the proceeds going to the winner and 50% to the Operation Jack Autism Foundation

■ Home run derby competition on Wii, Playstation or Xbox (TBD) with prizes and giveaways for the winners.

■ 50/50 raffles

■ Silent auction

■ Discounted food and drinks for the duration of the evening with minimum $5 donation at the door.

GET YOUR TICKETS BEFORE THEY ARE GONE!