The warm and sunny weather Sunday was made for porches. The only classic missing was lemonade, and to that end, Mary Ellen Meyer brought something even better.

Co-owner of Strip District’s Wigle Wiskey — its website notes she is the “distillery mom” — she was mixing up free “mocktails” and allowing visitors to add their choice of four kinds of bitters.

There were many who would raise a glass to the “Summerset Porch Party at Frick Park,” an event part fundraiser, and part community mixer.

“It started as an initiative among neighbors, and everybody loves porches,” said Evelyn Castillo, who coordinated the inaugural event.

Summerset is a sprawling Squirrel Hill community of new houses, condos and “luxury rentals,” perched high above the Monongahela River. Many of the buildings feature porches, which was inspiration for the event.

Seventeen properties sported decorated porches, more than half on Overton Lane.

Many homeowners donated the use of their porches, some of which were dedicated to various causes. Others were decorated by local businesses and nonprofit organizations such as Jewelry Love. The last is an initiative led by Pittsburgh Allderdice teacher Julie Farber and students.

Their goal was to design pieces that would be gifts for women with cancer. There also was a porch representing Allegheny CleanWays. Photos of the mounds of trash removed from area rivers and streams were a stark contrast against the backdrop of Summerset’s well-maintained lawns and flower beds.

“I think Pittsburgh is getting better, but when we take people out [on cleanup trips] they’re still pretty surprised,” said programs director Janee Romesberg.

Then there were the porches decorated just for fun: The Prop Shop in the Strip District was represented by a fiberglass menagerie that included an elephant, giraffe and a gorilla.

The Porch Party provided one group with the opportunity for a timely fundraiser.

Pittsburgh-based Rukmini Foundation, which hung lines of prayer flags across the porch of a home, was selling framed photography, T-shirts and orchids, with profits going toward the victims of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal.

“If we are able to sell some of this beautiful photography from Nepal, we can raise some money,” said Rukmini head Bibhuti Aryal. “But even more importantly, and maybe a little surprising, is that many people don’t know the extent of the damage to the country of Nepal.”

More than 8,500 have died as the result of the April 25 earthquake, and serious aftershocks continue in the region.

Mr. Aryal said two local photographers, Lauren Smathers and Ang Sherpa, were the artists on display. Large and small framed photographs of heritage buildings in Kathmandu, many of which he said are now rubble, were on sale as well as unframed, matted versions.

Rukmini Foundation’s mission is to help educate underprivileged girls in Nepal, but for now, the immediate concern is trying to bring basic human services to survivors.

“Even though our main mission is education, we decided this time to help with the community, more toward the relief effort,” said Priti Bhattaraicq, Rukmini’s chair of the Nepal team committee and a Summerset resident.

It’s a race against time, Mr. Aryal added. Although the four government-run schools partnering with Rukmini Foundation were retrofitted against earthquakes and remain unharmed — a fifth school likely suffered some damage — there are worries beyond education.

Monsoon season begins in June, and already there have been reports of mosquito- and water-born illnesses.

“It’s really important we find safe shelter for them before the monsoon,” Mr. Aryal said.

Maria Sciullo: msciullo@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1478 or @MariaSciulloPG.

First Published: May 18, 2015, 4:02 a.m.