SANTA ANA : Apple Sauce Labels Sought in Book Drive

The city library is asking residents to bring in proof-of-purchase seals from Mott’s apple juice and apple sauce products as part of a book drive.

For each proof-of-purchase seal collected by the library, Mott’s will donate 25 cents toward the purchase of new books, library officials said.

The program began Tuesday and runs through November, said Margaret Owens, library service manager.

“The success of the program really relies on the public,” she said. “The more they participate, the more books we can buy.”

Owens said the library would welcome any service organization that wants to collect the seals as a project.

“Maybe a local business would like to match Mott’s contribution, which would double the amount of books we could buy,” she said. “And really, increasing the number of books for the library also helps the quality of life for everyone in the community.”

In addition to the seals program, the library will have an opportunity to win one of ten $1,000 grants from Mott’s in a random drawing in November.

According to Owens, the program couldn’t come at a better time.

“Our book budget has been increasing over the years, enabling us to increase our purchase of Spanish and Vietnamese language books,” she said. “But that may change this year with the budget problems. So a program like this can really help.”

“Hopefully, people will come out and support us by giving us their proofs of purchase,” Owens said. “It all depends on them.”