The Vizer partnership at the University of San Diego translates exercise into meals donated to local foodbanks. Here’s how the partnership came about and what running the app on a campus looks like.
You may have heard of translating work output into energy, but what about calories into meals?
The University of San Diego (USD) has partnered with the Vizer app that translates user’s calories burned into meals earned for designated charities.
Jordaine Tran, the facilities and projects supervisor of Campus Recreation at the University of San Diego (USD), spearheaded this project.
“The idea came from brainstorming COVID-safe outdoor activities for the USD community to participate in that included online class, tours of San Diego and fitness challenges,” said Tran. “We reached out to an alum that had been working for Vizer for further details and learned that Vizer was also founded by a fellow alum.”
That alum is none other than Sam Pantazopoulos, a co-founder of Vizer. She stated on USD’s site: “I think having Vizer at USD is a great opportunity for students and faculty to get more involved in our San Diego community. By partnering up, we hope to help curate a health-forward campus culture that unites individuals by rewarding exercise with the opportunity to give back. Together, we can improve campus-wide health and combat hunger one step at a time.”
EXTRA CREDIT: In need of creative virtual programming? Check out this list.
How Does the Vizer Partnership Work?
Students need to reach their activity challenge by either:
- Walking 10,000 steps in a day, which can be tracked through the app and doesn’t require a wearable device.
- Completing 30 minutes of exercise at USD’s Sports Center or Bosley Fitness Center via check-in and location sharing.
Bluetooth devices across campus can be used to log activity on the Vizer app as well. Once activity is logged, meals will be donated to local foodbanks in San Diego, the home of Vizer. Plus, the app has partnered with restaurants to give rewards to its users.
EXTRA CREDIT: There’s an app for that. Katie White of Towson compares three fitness apps in this blog.
In order to participate, one has to download the app and make an account. Tran said they are using the location function to allow the community to use USD’s facilities to swim, play tennis, attend classes and more. But, there are other locations for fitness classes that users can check in at as well.
All in all, USD is excited about its partnership with Vizer.
“It’s a great program that encourages our campus community to be active while also helping a great cause,” said Tran. “Overall, we’re excited to be involved in a program that promotes both fitness and giving back.”
If your department or organization is interested in the Vizer app, reach out to the USD Campus Recreation team — usdrecreation@gmail.com.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
