Viessmann joins Garmin Pink October – Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Allendorf (Eder),  Oct 5, 2022  – Viessmann Group announced today that they are joining Garmin Europe Ltd’s Pink October Challenge in support of the international Pink October month. At the end of 2020, 7.8 million people globally were living with a breast cancer diagnosis they had received in the last 5 years — making breast cancer the world’s most common type of cancer, according to the World Health Organization. And yet, despite the staggering statistics, we’re not left with no recourse. As for the Pink October Challenge, Garmin is pitching in to help fund breast cancer research to aid in increased survival rates worldwide. Viessmann supports this campaign by providing and adjusting its ViMove app to engage people to make their contribution.

“As a family-owned company founded in 1917, we think in generations and we are committed to creating the highest quality of living worldwide. Together with our 14.000 Viessmann family members, we want to empower the Pink October movement in Co-Creation with Garmin and provide our ViMove app. Every activity counts!”,  Ivo Hoevel, Vice President Marketing at Viessmann.

“ViMove’s innovative engagement platform, fits perfectly for this project. The engagement and motivation of the users, social media support and the seamless integration of high quality Garmin wearable data made a great argument for the integration. We’re extremely happy to see how Garmin data can be used to battle and beat breast cancer, together with ViMove, one step at a time.”, Jörn Watzke, Sr. Global Director Garmin Health.

This year, participation is done in two different research efforts. First, Garmin European offices are partnering with ViMove to get smartwatch users moving to allocate Garmin’s donation to various charities. Second, Garmin Health is collaborating with the University of Thessaloniki on the REBECCA project, which is designed to research breast-cancer-induced chronic conditions in 7 clinical studies in 3 countries (3 in Norway, 2 in Spain and 2 in Sweden).

The Pink October Challenge – One Step at a Time

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and there are several ways everyone can show support. One is to wear pink — the brighter, the better. Another is to get moving with Garmin Europe Ltd.

Together with ViMove, a platform that won the 2021 Garmin Health Award for Most Innovative Solution in Engagement for its campaign to get users to exercise in exchange for trees planted on their behalf, Garmin European offices are rewarding users for exercise in the form of funds donated to breast cancer research. The premise is simple: Using your smartwatch, join the One Step at a Time challenge on the ViMove app and get moving. Running, cycling, stretching, walking — however you like to move, your activities will help determine how the donation pot is split across the nominated European breast cancer charities during the month of October.

Here's how everyone can join:

• Step 1:  Download the ViMove app  (available on the Apple store and Google Fit) and link the account you create to your  Garmin Connect Account.
• Step 2:  Get moving. For every personal goal you complete — like a yoga exercise, biking, or even a simple walk — Garmin will donate to charity: your activity will be first converted into points and counted for the charity organization supported in your country. And then in the apps section ‘Insight’, you can see how much donations (in EUR) charity of your country will get. More activities per user - more donations for charity of their country.
• Step 3:  Share your participation on social media and get your family and friends to join in on the fun! You can share your achievements directly from the ViMove app, or post within your favourite social media app using the hashtag #GarminPink.

The REBECCA Project

While Garmin users are getting those steps in to help fund research, the Garmin Health team is collaborating on a new breast cancer study with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. REBECCA, or REsearch on BrEast Cancer-induced chronic conditions supported by Causal Analysis of multi-source data, is funded by the European Union Horizon’s 2020 research and innovation program. REBECCA will combine clinical data with Garmin smartwatch-informed insights describing patients’ real-life behaviour, including physical activities, eating habits, sleep and stress.

Thanks to Garmin smartwatches — specifically Garmin LilyTM and Garmin Venu® Sq— researchers plan to define and implement a functional index regarding the overall physical activity of breast cancer patients, helping to better understand a patient’s overall health and well-being. The project, which will follow 650 breast cancer patients in Norway, Spain, and Sweden, will kick off in October 2022 and last for 3 years.

About Viessmann and ViMove

Viessmann is the leading provider of climate solutions for all living spaces. The ‘Integrated Viessmann Solutions Offering’ enables users to connect products and systems seamlessly via digital platforms and services for climate (heating, cooling, air quality) and refrigeration solutions. All solutions are based on renewable energy and maximum efficiency. All activities of the family company are based on its purpose. "We create living spaces for generations to come". Viessmann developed the ViMove app to enable other organizations to co-create a better future together.

About Garmin

Engineered on the inside for life on the outside, Garmin products have revolutionized life for runners, cyclists, swimmers and athletes of all levels and abilities. Committed to developing technology that helps people stay active and elevate performance, Garmin believes every day is an opportunity to innovate and a chance to beat yesterday. Garmin Ltd. (NYSE: GRMN) is incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin's virtual  Newsroom,  email our press team, or follow us on  LinkedIn.

About Garmin Health

Garmin Health provides custom enterprise business solutions that leverage Garmin’s extensive wearable portfolio and high-quality sensor data for applications in the corporate wellness, population health, and patient monitoring markets. As part of a global company that designs, manufactures and ships products worldwide, Garmin Health supports its customers’ commerce and logistics needs, allowing enterprises to scale with a single, trusted provider. For more information, email our press team, connect with us on LinkedIn, or visit us online at  garmin.com/health.