NEW YORK, November 9, 2026 /3BL/ - Smile Train announced today that it has been named a Silver winner in Innovation within the Health category at the 6th Annual Anthem Awards.
Smile Train is the world’s largest cleft-focused organization transforming access to cleft care by empowering local medical professionals with the training, resources, and support they need to provide life-changing treatment in their own communities. Its Immersive Clinical Simulation Training Platform brings together innovative virtual reality and hands-on simulation tools, including high-fidelity 3D physical simulators from Simulare Medical (A Division of Smile Train), a Virtual Surgery Simulator, and a Virtual Reality Operating Room to help surgeons build skills, strengthen clinical confidence, and improve patient outcomes. Reaching tens of thousands of users across more than 140 countries, the platform is helping expand access to high-quality surgical education and build sustainable local capacity for cleft care worldwide.
“We’re honored to receive this recognition, which reflects our commitment to making high-quality surgical education accessible to medical professionals everywhere,” said Sara Horne, Director of Education and Training at Smile Train. “By combining immersive technology with hands-on simulation, we’re creating new opportunities for surgeons to develop and refine their skills, regardless of where they live or the resources available to them. Ultimately, this investment in local medical professionals strengthens the capacity of health care systems and helps ensure more children can access safe, quality cleft care close to home.”
The 6th Annual Anthem Awards received more than 2,500 submissions from 43 countries worldwide, the organization’s largest competition to date. The Anthem Awards are recognizing the work that is setting the standard for good worldwide.
“The work of social impact doesn’t pause when conditions get harder, and this year’s Anthem Winners proved it,” said Anthem Awards General Manager, Patricia McLoughlin. “Facing new challenges, they kept building, kept organizing, and kept delivering for the people and causes they serve. They set a new standard for good, one defined as much by persistence as by results.”
Anthem Winners are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Judges for the 6th Annual Anthem Awards include Heather Elliott, Chief Development & Marketing Officer, National 4-H Council; Angie Lawry, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Colorectal Cancer Alliance; Shelby Georgis, CCO, HLK; Max Friedman, Co-Founder & CEO, Givebutter; Heather Malenshek, SVP & Chief Marketing Officer, Land O’Lakes, Inc.; Alex Schmider, Senior Director of Entertainment, GLAAD; Elizabeth Gray, Chief Executive Officer, National Audubon Society; Aurelia Figueroa, Chief Sustainability Officer, Breitling; Jonathan Adashek, SVP, Chief Global Affairs Officer, IBM; Megan Ranney, Dean, Yale School of Public Health; Mariko Silver, President and CEO, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; Gwynne Gauntlett Global Lead, Digital Giving + Engagement, United Nations Development Programme; Thiago Elias, EVP, Executive Director of Design, Edelman; Alexandra Gordon, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Acumen; among others.
About Smile Train:
Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. We advance a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children’s lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak and ultimately thrive. To learn more about how Smile Train’s sustainable approach means donations have both an immediate and long-term impact, please visit smiletrain.org.
About The Anthem Awards:
Launched in 2021 by The Webby Awards, The Anthem Awards recognizes impactful brands, nonprofits, and individuals that are setting the standard for good worldwide. The Anthem Awards honors work across seven core causes: Belonging & Inclusion; Education, Art & Culture; Health; Human & Civil Rights; Humanitarian Action & Services; Sustainability, Environment & Climate; and Technology. This season’s partners and sponsors include NationBuilder, Sustainable Brands, NationSwell, The Bloom, the Social Innovation Summit and The Nonprofit Alliance. The Awards were founded in partnership with the Ad Council, Born This Way Foundation, Feeding America, GLAAD, Mozilla, NAACP, NRDC, WWF, and XQ.
About The Webby Awards:
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites and Mobile Sites; Video & Film; Advertising, Media & PR; Apps, Software & Immersive; Social; Podcasts; Games; Creators and AI. Established in 1996, The Webby Awards received over 13,000 entries from all 50 states and over 70 countries worldwide this year. The Webby Awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include Adobe, WP Engine, Patreon, ElevenLabs, Framer, Meta, NAACP, KPMG, The Wall Street Journal, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, SXSW, The Podcast Show, and Authentic.
Media Contact
Emily Gay | Public Relations
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