The Hawai'i High School Athletic Association's "SOS" (Save Our Sports) campaign to benefit public school sports programs has received another big boost from a private school source.

Punahou's "O-Men" athletic alumni organization has made a contribution of $5,000, and a $2,500 gift in honor of the annual Punahou Relays track and field meet has been added to the fund, which will go toward helping public school athletic departments offset state budget cuts that left them operating with less than 64 percent of their allocations for 2008-2009.

According to the school's Web site, the O-Men "is a charitable organization devoted to enhancing the Punahou students' athletic experience." Its fundraising efforts usually go toward helping Punahou's athletic program.

"But with the recent state budget cuts and the SOS campaign, we realized that the essence of high school sports is making sure everyone gets to play," said Michael Pfeffer, president of the O-Men. "If the public schools were to cut their programs, it would be horrible, a tragedy of epic proportions."

Soliciting donations from its members, the O-Men raised $5,000 for SOS.

Pfeffer said one member earmarked a contribution of $2,500 in honor of the Punahou Relays, which for the past 64 years has been regarded as one of the state's largest and most prestigious track and field events. It annually includes many public school teams and individuals, including several from the Neighbor Islands.

"He wanted people to recognize that an important part of the mission of the Punahou Relays is the interaction among all the different schools participating," Pfeffer said.

This past week's contributions — which also includes $3,000 from the Kook Min Hur Foundation — have brought the fund's total to $1,396,270 since the effort began July 23. The funds 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.