Katie Cook is an avid world traveler and has been to over 40 countries. She has lived in Europe, Asia, and Africa while doing non-profit and mission work. Katie started her humanitarian work in college, as she planned many events to raise awareness for the conflict in Uganda. She also had the opportunity to travel across the United States for a year to further spread awareness about the conflict. With her half-Swedish heritage, she frequently visits her family in Sweden whom she is very close with. Outside of her world travels and humanitarian work, Katie was raised in California, and currently lives together with her husband Kevin and their four children in Northern California. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and specializes in trauma work through using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.
Katie first read about the war in Ukraine while homeschooling her children. She was heartbroken that in this day and age, two European countries could not resolve their conflicts in a diplomatic fashion. She especially thought about how innocent bystanders – women, children, and the elderly – would be impacted by this violent conflict. With this weighing heavy on Katie’s heart, she was motivated to share information about the situation in Ukraine on social media as well as reputable organizations to donate to.
In October 2022 (while she was also 6 months pregnant), Katie attended a conference for global workers in Prague where she volunteered as a therapist. This conference proved to be a life-changing experience for her, as it inspired a new direction for her humanitarian work. Katie met two Ukrainian refugees who were the same age as her. She was incredibly touched by their life stories, and they would quickly become her new close friends.
One of the refugees was a photographer, and she gifted Katie a maternity photography session in the beautiful old town of Prague. Katie felt very humbled by this gift and her generosity, knowing that her new photographer friend worked 3 jobs to support her family. After the photo session, Katie and the two refugees had dinner together in the old town along with all of their children. Over dinner, they shared their life ambitions and prayed for the war in Ukraine to end. After returning home from Prague, Katie asked her friends and family on social media to help raise money to give her Ukrainian friends a Christmas gift. All together, they raised $1000, and Katie was able to give each of them $500 for Christmas in 2022! Katie continues to keep in touch with her friends over Zoom.
Following this inspirational travel experience, Katie decided to host a benefit brunch at her house, where she sold her vintage items to raise money for Ukraine. Katie has been collecting vintage items for about 3 years and has a good eye for beautiful pieces at yard sales and thrift stores. With space running out at home, she planned to sell some of these items. She knew she wanted to contribute to something positive with her revenue, but was looking for inspiration. After her life-changing experience of meeting her Ukrainian friends in Prague, Katie decided to donate these funds to Ukraine!
Items Katie had found at yard sales and thrift stores over the years that she planned sell at the benefit
Katie originally planned to have the brunch in her recently remodeled backyard. But as the rain poured, the brunch became a fun, cozy event inside, as people shopped and lingered in her house with the fireplace going. Ultimately it was an incredible success! Katie hosted a plethora of people and sold almost all of her numerous vintage items. What further contributed to the event’s success was the overwhelming support she had from her loved ones – including her mom (who made 2 egg casseroles for brunch) as well as her dear friends Katie Drake, Ryann Cox, and Carly Boetcher.
After making a sizable amount of money, Katie decided to donate the funds to World Relief workers in Ukraine. Her close friend works as a lawyer for World Relief, helping Ukrainian refugees settle in the Sacramento area. Katie was also familiar with World Relief’s ground work in Ukraine, so she knew it was a reputable organization to donate to.
Items Katie had found at yard sales and thrift stores over the years that she planned sell at the benefit
Outside of fundraising and organizing her benefit brunch, Katie has continued to raise awareness and remind people that the war in Ukraine is still ongoing. Katie’s relationship with her Ukrainian friends has driven her further to advocate for the situation in Ukraine. Her friends and the rest of the Ukrainian people matter and should not be forgotten. Katie was struck by the gift of humanity when she met her Ukrainian friends, and this reminded her that we should all be supporting and advocating for one another worldwide.
As a closing note, Katie wishes to share some advice with the readers of Humanitarian Voices: we must never stop trying to help and uplift each other. Our humanity is tied up with others, and we must never turn a blind eye to the tragedies of this world.