From now through Christmas, buying a car can help a public school athletic department go far.

The Hawai'i Honda Dealers Association has announced it will donate $100 from every auto sale toward the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association's "SOS" (Save Our Sports) campaign designed to help public high school athletic departments offset recent state budget cuts that left them operating with less than 64 percent of their 2008-2009 allocations.

The offer is good at all seven Honda dealerships throughout the state — Big Island Honda (Hilo and Kona), Honda Windward (Käne'ohe), Island Honda (Kahului), King Honda (Lihu'e), Pflueger Honda (Honolulu) and Tony Honda (Waipahu) — and the contributions will continue through Christmas Day or when it totals $25,000.

John Shreve, president of the Hawai'i Honda Dealers Association, said through a spokesperson that his group wanted to get involved with the SOS campaign because it could "affect so many students throughout the state."

The SOS Fund's running total of $1,333,348 surpasses the original goal of $1.2 million when the campaign began on July 28, but still falls several hundred thousand dollars short when factoring in a $700,000-plus reduction in allocations for coaches' stipends and thousands more for other expenses.

In addition to the $100 contribution per car sold, the Hawai'i Honda Dealers Association has taken out TV and radio ads and posted mall signs publicizing the need to support high school athletics.

Shreve's spokesperson said the association has dedicated its entire ad budget for the next month toward the SOS campaign and announced its participation during the "Perry and Price" KSSK radio show last week.

Each Honda dealership also will be collecting individual contributions to the SOS Fund and the association has set up a link on its Web site to donate.

The SOS Fund eventually will be distributed to Hawai'i'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.