Zippy’s Restaurants made a $20,000 contribution this morning to the Hawaii High School Athletic Association’s “SOS” (Save Our Sports) campaign to assist public school athletic departments hit by recent state budget cuts.

Zippy’s chief operating officer Paul Yokota presented the check to HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya at Aloha Stadium.
Zippy’s set up collection boxes at each of its locations and matched customer donations, in addition to making its own.
“This (SOS) is a special program, but we like to participate in helping high school sports every year,” Yokota told The Advertiser, noting Zippy’s has been a steady sponsor of state tournaments and other prep sports events.
Recent state budget cuts have left public high school athletic departments operating with less than 64 percent of their 2008-2009 allocations.
The SOS campaign has so far raised over $1.3 million to help offset the public schools’ budget cuts for athletic supplies, equipment, transportation and coaches stipends.
The SOS Fund eventually will be distributed to Hawaii’s 45 public high school athletic departments based on a formula that accounts for the size of each program and amount of student participation.
To contribute to the SOS Fund, make a check payable to “HHSAA SOS Account” and send it to HHSAA, P.O. Box 62029, Honolulu, HI 96839, or visit www.sportshigh.com