Milledgeville family benefits from charity cookbook

MILLEDGEVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – We all our favorite ‘go-to’ dishes, but maybe you’ll consider adding a few more to your recipe box once you meet this little Milledgeville chef. The Hope for Brody Cookbook is written by kids and it helps a Middle Georgia family with a disabled son.

7 year-old Hope Jackson starts her home cooking videos the same way. With her little brother, Brody, by her side.

“We adopted Hope. She was left at the hospital,” said Leigh Jackson, Hope and Brody’s mother.

Three years later, they received a similar phone call.

“We were asked if we would open our home for Brody,” recalled Leigh.

Brody is Hope’s biological brother who was diagnosed with Spastic Cerebral Palsy and Cortical Blindness shortly after he was born. He was later diagnosed with Metopic Crainiostynosis, Clonus and Dystonia. He also developed focal/partial seizures. Brody can’t walk, talk or see.

“It’s a 24 hour job and then some. We don’t get rest sometimes,” explained Leigh.

Leigh is a stay at home mom. Her husband, TJ, was recently laid off from work because of the economy. 

“Money is tight,” said Leigh.

But her daughter’s cooking skills inspired a cookbook that will help the family get through this difficult time. 

“I always saw Hope [on Facebook] and she was doing these videos in the kitchen. She was so adorable and sharing all her recipes. I thought, wow, we could pull that together,” said Kathy Qualey, one of the founders of Zelixzone.com. It’s a creative website where kids design their own unique characters. Some of the characters or “zelixes” are found in the Hope for Brody Cookbook. 

Qualey and her mother decided to produce the cookbook which also includes recipes from other families with disabled children across the U.S. Four of them are from Georgia.

“It’s something we all can share. [We] all share the same struggles. Some of [the] situations [are] a little different, but it’s all around the same thing,” said TJ Jackson, Hope and Brody’s father.

While every cookbook sold benefits the family, the Jackson’s hope the cookbook does the same for you.

“Bring families together. Get back in the kitchen. Cook with your kids,” advised Leigh.

Brody’s Facebook page is called Brody’s Love. Leigh updates the page with information about the family regularly. To order your own Hope for Brody Cookbook click here. Each book costs $21 and a part of that money will go toward the Jackson Family.