The Ella Jordan home.

Ella L. Jordan was a trailblazer.

The first president of the Pensacola Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, she sought to improve her community at a time when both African-Americans and women faced wide gaps in civil rights and opportunity.

“She was very important to the community,” said Georgia Blackmon, founding member of the Mother Wit Institute, which is dedicated to preserving African-American culture. “As president, she worked on a lot of different things: economics, politics, health and youth programs.”

Jordan’s base of operations was the home she purchased in the 400 block of North C Street in 1929. The house, however, became much more than a residence.

“It was an important gathering place in the community,” Blackmon said. “Meetings were held there, women tutored and issues were discussed.”

The house even hosted some important historical figures.

“It’s said that Eleanor Roosevelt came and spoke at the house,” Blackmon said.

In the years after Jordan passed away, the house remained a cultural, social and political and was named in her honor in 1959. But unlike Jordan’s legacy, the home where so many women gathered and learned is in danger. After years of neglect, the dilapidated house faced a huge blow in 2004.

“Hurricane Ivan really was what destroyed the house,” said Blackmon. “It was in a bad state.”

Blackmon and the Mother Wit Institute are now looking for ways to preserve the historic home and they are asking for help from the community.

“On Saturday, we will be holding a fundraiser and letting people come and meet people whose lives were touched by the house,” she said.

The event will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the home on North C Street and will also feature food, live music and a ceremony and program at noon.

“We hope that people will come out and donate,” Blackmon said. “We want to see this house restored.

Using funds already collected, Blackmon said that work on that restoration will begin in mid-August.

“We’re going to start working on the roof and repairing the foundation first,” she said. “It will take time, but we are dedicated to preserving this piece of our community’s history.”

For those who can’t make Saturday’s event, donations can also be made online via the Mother Wit Institute’s GoFundMe page at http://www.gofundme.com/s5t6p9h and via Paypal by visiting ellajordanhome.org and clicking on the donate button.