The Fifth Annual Art Show at Radley Run raises nearly $10,000 for Safe Harbor, a homeless shelter based in West Chester.

It was literally a “dark and stormy night,” with a deluge of water snaking down the roads  around Radley Run Country Club, but that didn’t keep a small gathering from celebrating.

Representatives from Safe Harbor of Chester County, which serves the homeless, were there to accept a check for nearly $10,000 from Karen Delaney, co-chair of the Radley Art Invitational 2014.

 The check represented the proceeds– and the fourth consecutive year that Safe Harbor benefited -  from another  successful art show held this past spring at Radley Run.

 All the proceeds from the silent auction went to help Safe Harbor continue to provide meals, housing, and guidance to the area’s homeless, said Gina Harrison, director of development at Safe Harbor.

 The close ties between the non-profit, independent shelter and the art organization was cemented almost from the start, said Delaney, a sculptor who has been involved in organizing art shows since 2008. 

Delaney noted that the Radley Run show is especially popular with local artists since it’s deliberately kept small (so that each artist has a spacious well-lighted display area) and it opens with a lively Friday night with complimentary hors d’oeuvres, live music and a cash bar.

In 2010, the Radley Art Invitational was looking for ways to connect local artists to the community. There were diminishing number of local art galleries but a steady art buying public. It was a “win-win” situation for the artists, but the show organizers wanted to reach deeper into the community by supporting Safe Harbor, Delaney said.

At that time, the West Chester shelter had just completed a renovation that doubled its capacity to support 20 single homeless men and 20 single women. The renovation has made Safe Harbor the only shelter in Chester County to support homeless women.

“Art shows can play a real role in the community,” Delaney said, “It can be a way of supporting a good cause and a social event and a way for you to get to know your local artists.” .

Proceeds from the 2013 art show brought just under $9,000 to Safe Harbor.