The Sauna Aid initiative

Sauna Aid is a global initiative providing movable saunas and support services to people affected by natural and man-made disasters. Over the past two years, it has made significant progress through collaboration with individuals and organizations worldwide.

Sauna Aid has deployed various saunas across Ukraine: a custom-built tent sauna in Kharkiv, a Pixxla container sauna near the Russian border, and an Edjusta Iglu sauna, donated by the Therme Group, at a sports stadium in Staryi Sambir. Additional Edjusta saunas, funded by the Bath House of London and the Japanese Sauna Association, were sent to Kupyansk and Kherson. Saunas included heating units from Harvia and Narvi, which will later equip locally built saunas.

In partnership with Saunas4Ukraine, Sauna Aid is working to encourage Ukraine’s president to formally request movable saunas and hygiene units from Estonia and Finland.

Sauna Aid has several projects example designing a public sauna complex on Nebo Beach near Lake Nahorivske outside Kharkiv. Additionally, in collaboration with the Ukrainian charity Repower, Sauna Aid supports psychological recovery programs for frontline medics. It provided mobile sauna services during retreats in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, aiding over 100 medical personnel each time.

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.

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.

Participating ISA organizations

Japan Sauna Spa Association, Lithuanian Bath Academy, Association of Professional Bathmasters, British Sauna Society, Finnish Sauna Society, Polish Sauna Society, German Sauna Association, Norwegian Sauna Society, Danish Sauna Association, Finnish Embassy in Poland, North American Sauna Society, Swedish Sauna Academy, New Zealand Sauna Society, The Australian Sweat Bathing Association, Finnland-Institut Berlin, Austrian Sauna Society, and the Czech Sauna Association.