A Christmas surprise has landed in the stocking of the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association's "SOS" (Save Our Sports) campaign to assist public school athletic programs.

The GIFT Foundation, which helped kick off SOS in late July with a $50,000 pledge, has added $10,000 to the pot after an October fundraiser exceeded projected goals.

With a traditional Halloween costume party theme, the foundation's seventh annual fundraiser Oct. 30 at the Sheraton Waikīkī's Edge was titled, "A Vanity Fair — Where Old Hollywood Meets New," and three beneficiaries were selected: The SOS campaign, Family Promise and After School All-Stars.

According to a press release, all three pledge goal amounts were exceeded, including $10,000 more for SOS.

This past week's contributions have brought the SOS Fund's running total to $1,384,920, which will go toward helping Hawai'i's 45 public schools offset state budget cuts that left each operating with less than 64 percent of their 2008-2009 allocations.

HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya said contributions are still coming in, so the SOS drive will continue at least into January. The funds eventually will be distributed based on a formula that accounts for the size of each program and 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.

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