Jewel Staite and a number of other actors are auctioning off dinner dates on eBay to fund cancer treatments for a fellow actor named Babz Chula (which explains the sign Jewel is holding in the photo above)...

The winning bidder will receive a free dinner with Paul McGillian and Jewel Staite at a pre-selected restaurant in Vancouver, BC at a mutually agreeable date to be determined by both parties in between May 1, 2008 and December 1, 2009.

As any red-blooded sci-fi geek is aware, Jewel played the role of the adorable Kaylee in the Firefly TV series and the follow-up movie Serenity. She is currently appearing in Stargate Atlantis on the Sci-Fi Channel.

The auction runs through April 12th and is currently at $1,500 (Canadian). Other dinner dates include David Duchovny and Chris Carter from the X-Files, as well as other actors that you might (or might not) recognize.

So, anyone have a couple grand and a ticket to Vancouver to spare?