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About Us
"It started with an ice-swimming group, a crazy idea, and €150.
Three years later, it became the wildest story of our lives."
Warm Hearts
The founder of Warm Hearts, Elsa Havas, had an ambitious vision: to create more kindness and belonging in the world. She couldn’t do it alone. She needed help.
A retired neighbour, Frans, joined her, and while they were ice swimming together, the idea emerged: a sauna to warm up after cold swims that could also serve as a tool to spread kindness in Amsterdam.
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From the beginning, the sauna was meant to be a meeting place for people who would not otherwise meet. They wanted to make it accessible to everyone, so it had to be free. And if people could use the sauna for free, they could help share our vision: spreading kindness!
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The idea of the first sauna (in the world!) fueled by kindness was born in 2022. In December 2024, Warm Hearts opened its doors thanks to partners, sponsors and mostly, the efforts of a diverse community of more than 100 volunteers, from locals to refugees and expats.
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Warm Hearts has become a place where people volunteer, contribute to their neighbourhood, find friendship after loneliness, share their talents, and rebuild confidence after burnout or unemployment.
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Warm Hearts sails as a reminder that community and social impact can be created by anyone — it just takes someone to start.
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Listen to the moving story of how four neighbours became the founders of the Warm Hearts Foundation, pioneering Amsterdam’s first floating sauna, heated by kindness and what it took to make it happen.
Our Mission
Warm Hearts connects and empowers people in Amsterdam of all backgrounds through volunteering, community, and kindness. Our goal is to help people out of loneliness by offering a space to learn, contribute to a better world through the volunteer-run sauna and activities around it.
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Organisation
The Foundation Warm Hearts (Stichting Warm Hearts Floating Sauna) founded in 2023 operates on a non-profit basis. Its main activity is providing volunteering opportunities for social impact such as learning to be a skipper of the sauna, marketing, fundraising, social media, podcast production, website and tech, cultural and social event organizing. Currently, Warm Hearts has approximately 100 volunteers, who are led by Director, Elsa Havas and Operational Manager, Reetta Järvinen and five Head Volunteers. Warm Hearts funds these activities primarily through donations from institutions, companies and private individuals. Warm Hearts is registered as a Stichting (Foundation) in the Netherlands.
Warm Hearts Foundation's Board
The board of the Warm Hearts Foundation supervises the director and operational manager in the performance of their duties and provides the director with advice based on the board members’ experience. The board has approval rights over the strategic plan and budget, the adoption of the annual report and accounts, and organizational policies.
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The board consists of four members who bring relevant experience and networks that support the foundation in fulfilling its mission: Adriaan van der Lely (Chair), Petra Wullings, Bader Dabbagh, and Pauline Quax. Board members are not compensated for their contributions.
Contact
Stichting Warm Hearts Floating Sauna
Langswater 194 1069TS Amsterdam
KVK: 91706173
BTW-identificatienummer: NL865744166B01
Non-discrimination Statement
Warm Hearts is a diverse, compassionate team from over 70 nationalities including people with refugee backgrounds and those who have faced hardship. We value equity, inclusion, and celebrating different cultures. We hope it goes without saying that we do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or social status — in our hiring, volunteering, or activities. If you are a person passionate about making a positive impact, welcome to Warm Hearts!
