WHEELING – For nearly 150 years, the ringing of Salvation Army bells outside of stores and restaurants has signaled the Christmas season.

What is traditionally thought of as a volunteer service, however, is becoming less the norm as area Salvation Army services find themselves hiring their bell ringers for employment, full and part time.

Recent advertisements have been shown the organization is hiring seasonal workers for the Christmas season.

Janine Pietras, who works with the Ohio County Salvation Army office in Wheeling, said in recent times, they have needed to supplement their volunteer staff, often consisting of volunteers from the Lions Club, Boy Scouts, Rotary Club, Kiwanis International and service clubs from schools and universities.

“Nobody wants to do anything for free,” Pietras said. “But we also see it as a positive thing. If we pay people for their time, that’s money that can go toward food and toys for their families at Christmas time.”

A large portion of the Salvation Army’s volunteers, college-age students, have a tendency to leave the area for Christmas break, which leaves a vacuum during the busiest time of the year, Pietras said.

John Blevins, a manager at the Wheeling Salvation Army, said on several occasions the volunteer positions are filled by employees at businesses they collect near. A number of WesBanco Bank employees, for example, are often seen as bell ringers by their building.

“It’s more of a giving back thing,” Pietras said.

The community involvement is a critical component at Salvation Army centers across the board, according to Sue Dewan, an officer with the Weirton Salvation Army office.

“As the clubs supporting us are getting older and with diminishing membership, we really depend on community support at the Salvation Army,” she said. “I’ve seen communities where there’s 100 percent volunteer service, and in Wellsburg we’re very fortunate to have roughly 50 percent volunteers, but this is entirely dependent on community support.”

Dewan has served with the Salvation Army for more than 25 years, and said the organization has hired employees for as long as she has worked there.

“We rely very extensively on volunteers, but there just aren’t enough people to cover every spot,” she said.

Continued reliance on volunteers to supplement the work force allows money to be distributed better back into the community, she said.

“For every dollar we save with a volunteer, that’s another dollar going to someone in need,” Dewan said.