The Sauna Aid initiative

Sauna Aid is a multicountry initiative to provide movable sauna and supportive services to people facing natural and man-made disasters. Over the past two years, Sauna Aid has made remarkable strides, thanks to the dedication and collaborative efforts of numerous individuals and organizations around the globe.

We’ve placed a custom-built tent sauna in the heart of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s eastern region, and a Pixxla container sauna just outside Kharkiv, near the Russian border. We installed a Edjusta Iglu sauna, generously donated by the Therme Group, at a local sports stadium in Staryi Sambir, a small town in western Ukraine. With donations from the Bath House of London and the Japanese Sauna Association we delivered two other Edjusta saunas, one to the Kupyansk region in Eastern Ukraine, and the other to the hard-hit Kherson region in the south. Inside the Kupyansk/Kharkiv bound sauna were 5 Harvia M3 wood burning stoves donated by Harvia Sauna and one Narvi 16 stove and water heater, a gift from Narvi of Finland. The extra heating units will be placed in locally built saunas at a later date.

Sauna diplomacy

Sauna Aid actively promotes the practice of Sauna Diplomacy, a tradition especially popular in Finland and other Nordic countries, where saunas hold cultural significance as spaces of relaxation, openness, and equality. The casual, intimate atmosphere of a sauna encourages participants to speak freely, lower their guard, and build genuine connections outside the constraints of traditional diplomatic settings. One famous example of sauna diplomacy occurred during the Cold War, when Finnish President Urho Kekkonen invited Soviet and Western leaders to a secret sauna outside Helsinki, where they could “sweat out” their differences and discuss the future of the world in a unique, informal environment.

Who we are

About The International Sauna Aid Foundation

The International Sauna Aid Foundation is officially registered as a 501c3 non-profit entity with the tax except status required by many potential donors in the US. The Foundation works in coordination with the non-profit International Sauna Association in Helsinki Finland.

About The International Sauna Association (ISA)

The International Sauna Association (ISA) is a non-profit association of over 20 national sauna societies. The ISA was founded in 1958. Its goal is publicizing the sauna and promoting its use on a global scale by rallying supporters of sauna activities in different countries as well as promoting the scientific studies of the history, sociology, and medical benefits of the sauna.