Where warmth brings people together: the floating sauna of Warm Hearts

OAt the Sloterplas, something unexpected is sailing by. It looks like a small house, powered by a quiet electric motor. From a small chimney, fragrant smoke emerges, hinting at what we’re dealing with: eucalyptus, mint, pine, and maybe a bit of menthol… Yes, a real sauna is sailing by!What started as a Finnish desire for warmth after a cold dip grew into Warm Hearts — a floating meeting place where locals, volunteers, and newcomers can connect. For chairman Adriaan van der Lely, the sauna is primarily a means. The real goal? Connection.The idea for the sauna originated with the Finnish Elsa Havas. She swam, summer and winter, with neighbors in the Sloterplas and noticed how great the need was for warmth afterward. Together with local residents, she established the Stichting Warm Hearts Floating Sauna. What started as a practical plan quickly took on a broader meaning.

Adriaan puts it this way: “The sauna is the core, but it’s not about the sauna. It’s about the encounter, about the people, about the connection we have with each other. Warm Hearts is about community engagement, about the involvement of the local environment, and bringing people together: from neighborhood residents to asylum seekers. We offer a place where everyone can find their place.”

That’s quite an ambition, but the concept proves to be a success. Many signed up for a trip on the lake. The access key was performing a good deed: from volunteering to rescuing injured birds. Meanwhile, you can also book the sauna privately. The group of dedicated volunteers grew accordingly: from a few dozen at the beginning to around a hundred now. This obviously requires organization. Therefore, initiator Elsa asked Adriaan if he would like to become the chairman of the board.

Contributing to something positive

Adriaan became involved with Warm Hearts through local festivities around the Sloterplas. He felt an immediate connection and offered his help. And one thing led to another. Volunteering is something that comes to him “naturally”: “That’s something that has always been with me. I think it comes from a natural tendency to take action when I see something needs to be done.”In daily life, Adriaan, who swapped Canada for Amsterdam in 2009 with his girlfriend, works at one of the ‘Big Four’. He enjoys it, but: “Volunteering certainly gives me more meaning than just the work at KPMG. It’s about people; everything that happens here stems from the desire to contribute to something positive.” He enjoys the honest, slightly raw aspect that contrasts pleasantly with the streamlined perfection of what he himself calls ‘polished capitalism’. Moreover, he gains skills in volunteering that are useful for his paid position, such as leading groups. Not that he is very directive, by the way: “I’m not into micromanaging, saying: you have to do things this way or that way. You have to be able to rely on the involvement of the volunteer themselves. That is the lifeblood of such an organization.”

Frisbee

As chairman of the board, he does not suffer under enormous work pressure. It takes him a few hours a week, somewhat depending on whether there are meetings. This even gives him space for other volunteer tasks, such as at the Windmill Frisbee Tournament, an annual event in Geuzenveld with eighty frisbee teams from around the world, 1,800 participants, and two hundred volunteers. He is also involved in the board there. Adriaan is a satisfied expat. He likes Amsterdam: “In 2009 we thought: we’ll stay for half a year, maybe a year, to gain a bit of a European experience and see how it goes. It has gone so well that we are still here!” His volunteer work at Warm Hearts has certainly contributed to that. He wholeheartedly recommends it: “Come and see for yourself.”

Do you also want to discover what volunteering can bring you?

Viewall possibilities onlineoffind your match in one conversation – We are happy to help you on your way!Interview: Piet Renooy
Photos: Marcel Jansen