Loving the Broken, Right Where They Are
The Schuylar Barnes Foundation empowers vulnerable individuals, supporting GRIEVING MOMS, FOSTER TEENS, and TRAFFICKING VICTIMS. We offer compassionate retreats, nurturing homes, and tailored support programs to create a safe space for healing.
Our Passion: Our Heartfelt Purpose
Founded by Jessica Basham, this foundation is a loving tribute to her daughter, Schuylar, who displayed unwavering faith, courage and love in her battle against cancer. Despite the immense pain of the loss, Jessica’s love for her daughter and her desire for Schuylar’s legacy and passions to live on have inspired her, along with family and friends to embark on this remarkable journey.
Driven by a shared love for others and a deep commitment to making a difference, Jessica is harnessing her own passions along with those of her beloved daughter to create a movement of hope and support. The Schuylar Barnes Foundation will be a a beacon of light for Mother’s who have lost children, at-risk youth/foster teens, and victims of human trafficking.
Through the foundation, Jessica aims to honor Schuylar’s memory by spreading love, kindness and compassion to those who need it most. Join us a we create a legacy that embodies the power of faith and love to heal and uplift even in the face of adversity. Come along side us in celebrating Schuylar’s life and her love that continues to inspire us all at The Schuylar Barnes Foundation. Together, we can “Love the Broken, Love Like Crazy” just like Schuylar did!
Our Outreach Projects
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The Schuylar House ~Dream it, then Build it!
We believe wholeheartedly that by constructing safe and nurturing homes for foster teens who are preparing to transition out of the foster care system, and by providing them with invaluable tools through mentorship programs, teaching essential life skills, and offering various forms of support, we are truly changing their lives for the better. Our aim is to empower these young individuals, helping them to realize their full potential and achieve all that they can in life.
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Broken to Beautiful Retreats ~ Supporting Broken Mom's
Our Broken to Beautiful retreats were thoughtfully planned with the unique experiences and needs of broken moms in mind. Navigating the profound heartache of child loss is incredibly challenging, and we firmly believe that it is essential to cultivate a nurturing community. In this supportive space, these moms can find solace and understanding through genuine friendships with other mothers who truly understand and resonate with their feelings.
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Break the Chains of Human Trafficking
We are actively seeking an organization to partner with that not only supports those in need, but also fights against human trafficking in all its many forms. We truly believe in the power of collaboration to create a more significant impact and to bring about meaningful change in the lives of those individuals affected by this devastating issue. Together, we can work towards building a brighter future for those who have been impacted by such unimaginable circumstances.
Schuylar's Journey
On this day, we reflect on the remarkable journey of Schuylar Reggi Barnes. Schuylar's passion for missions and combating sex trafficking ignited during her college years when she took a stand against modern-day slavery on the grounds of Marshall University oragninzing a 24-hour Stand event. Her passion for missions grew as she ventured out on mission trips to Haiti and Isreal during the next couple years of college. Her dedication and God’s calling only grew stronger. She prayed for guidance and the right decisions. Once she was sure she knew what God was calling her to do she committed herself and embarked on an 11-month mission trip to Central & South America. She would get on a plane to further champion the cause she deeply believed in, just 3 weeks after her college graduation. On The World Race, Schuylar went into communites with her squad and team and ministered to the lost and the broken. She prayed with girls in brothels that she knew had been forced into the trafficking life and it broke her heart. But it gave her the spirit to pray, raise awareness and have faith that she was making a difference.
After the race Schuylar's path led her to Nashville, where she took a job with Abel. Abel is an organization empowering women, both in Nashville and around the world, by providing high-quality jobs, living wages and safe working conditions for the people making their pieces.
Her unwavering spirit then took her back to Georgia, where she joined Adventures in Missions. Here, Schuylar played a pivotal role in establishing the Beauty for Ashes program, offering women a transformative journey dedicated to serving and uplifting women worldwide. While in Georgia she was also an intragal part of starting a “Bag Program” with Restoring Dignity Georgia so that kids going into foster care would not have to carry their belongings in a black plastic bag.
Missions changed Schuylar’s life in many ways. It helped her find herself while on The Race. It also led her to her husband Joe. They both worked for Adventures in Missions, and Joe also went on The Race. He went at a different time and to many other countries than Schuylar, but missions was a part of his life too and what brought them together. After they dated for awhile, Joe would propose and they would be married. A year and 12 days later they would welcome their Sweet Son Vander to their family. Unfortunatly just 10 months later Schuylar would be diagnosed with cervical cancer that would end up matastisizing to her liver. She fought a very courageous fight for 18 months, never losing her faith, her light, her spirit or her smile. She continued to love her people fiercely and others right where they were. She loved people for who they were, not their lifestyle, not their story, just as they were! Even during the toughest part of her fight she kept her faith. She would make the hardest trip of her life in the back of an SUV, on a mattress, from the hospital in Virginia to a church in Georgia to be baptized. Later that week she would go back to that church to be in the service and worship, and be baptized for a second time. Her faith was unwavering, she was commited to following where she felt God was leading her. This particular week he led her into a baptistry where she would have to be carried in, but once baptized she came out of the water standing on her own, hands raised to the Heavens, praising God. and walked out of the baptistry on her own. He called her to this church where as she stood that night in the baptistry, dozens of people were saved because of seeing her baptism. Ultimately God chose to heal her by calling her home with him…BUT People were saved because Schuylar was faithful, not just in that church, but in her community, in her state, her country and in other countries. Because of her faithfulness to God’s calling other people were touched and saved.
Today, we honor Schuylar's legacy and passion in the fight against sex trafficking, to spread her faith and God’s Love to the broken and to make the lives of others in her own community better. Her kindness, determination, and unwavering commitment continue to inspire us all to stand up against injustice and make the world a better place for everyone.
About our Founder- Jessica Basham
If you were to ask Jessica to define herself, she would eagerly share a powerful truth: “I’m a Child Abuse Survivor, Foster Teen, Teen Mom, Touched by Adoption, Happily Married, Business Owner, Mom of Three, Ginga to Four, Touched by Cancer (Daughter & Mom), Angel Momma, Foundation Owner, but Most importantly
I AM A CHILD of GOD.”
Jessica Basham is the founder of The Schuylar Barnes Foundation and the Broken to Beautiful Retreats and Support Groups. Saved at the age of 29, Jessica’s life and work are now firmly rooted in her faith. Looking back, she sees that even during the years when God was not a part of her life, His hand of protection was always upon her. She firmly believes that she could not have survived the darkest seasons of her life — especially the devastating loss of her daughter, Schuylar, to cancer in 2022 — without the strength, comfort, and presence of Jesus. Through her foundation and ministry, Jessica’s deepest desire is to be a light and to show others that with God on their side, they can make it through anything.
Jessica has always had a deep and profound passion for people, particularly foster teens and at-risk youth. In 2013, God placed it on her heart to start her own nonprofit organization, HYPE Ministries (Helping Youth Prosper Eternally). Through this ministry, she hosted faith-based youth events and Christmas parties for foster teens living in group homes. At these Christmas outreaches, teens received thoughtfully prepared stockings filled with age-appropriate Bibles, gift cards, and meaningful gifts. One of Jessica’s greatest joys was returning to the group home in Beckley, WV, where she herself had once been a resident — a full-circle moment she now recognizes as God’s redemptive work in her life. She also cherished leaving Easter baskets on the porches of group homes each Easter Sunday. Through her own experiences in the foster care system, Jessica realized that foster teens often fall through the cracks during the holidays, and she felt strongly that God was calling her to meet both their physical and spiritual needs by offering hope, encouragement, and access to the gospel.
This dedication and compassion for others only deepened following the heartbreaking loss of her beloved daughter, Schuylar, in 2022. Even in her grief, Jessica leaned on her faith, trusting God to carry her through unimaginable pain. These passions — intertwined with Schuylar’s unwavering heart for victims of human trafficking — ultimately led Jessica to transition HYPE Ministries into The Schuylar Barnes Foundation in 2024. This foundation holds an incredibly sacred place in her heart. Jessica sees it as a God-given mission to carry on her daughter’s beautiful legacy while serving those she feels called to love, support, and uplift.
Throughout her life, Jessica has faced immense adversity — from surviving childhood abuse, to navigating the foster care system, to enduring the unimaginable loss of her child. Yet through every hardship, God has remained faithful, shaping her into a powerful survivor and compassionate servant. Jessica believes that with the right support, faith, and loving people around us, anything is possible. By reaching out to foster teens, at-risk youth, and trafficking survivors, she believes we are living out the call of Scripture to care for widows and orphans and to love the vulnerable. Through kindness, encouragement, and faith, we can instill courage, restore self-worth, and remind others that they are worthy of everything good God has for them.
She will continue her outreach to provide age-appropriate Bibles to foster teens, along with her annual Christmas and Easter outreach programs. Jessica also holds a God-sized dream to one day build The Schuylar House — a transitional home for foster teens aging out of the system and stepping into independent living, rooted in faith, love, and stability.
Today, Jessica not only advocates for young people but also walks closely alongside grieving mothers. As a mom who has endured the loss of a child, her heart deeply connects with others navigating that same pain. Through the Broken to Beautiful Retreats and Support Groups, she is creating safe, faith-centered spaces for grieving moms to gather, share, and heal together. She often says, “Everyone’s grief journey is different, but that doesn’t mean you have to walk it alone.”
Jessica firmly believes that God uses our stories — even the broken parts — to bring healing, hope, and redemption to others. She now participates in speaking engagements where she can share her testimony, faith, and journey of grief with audiences across the country. If you are interested in having Jessica speak at your business, organization, retreat, or event, please click below to send an email and get in touch.
