Davenport-based Her Voice Media recently won a 2026 Gold Award from the international Anthem Awards, for the April 2026 “Race, Reimagined” issue of Love Girls magazine.
It won in the Nonprofit – Special Projects, Belonging & Inclusion category at the 6th-annual Anthem Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences.
Made possible through the State of Illinois' Healing Illinois grant, this project gave girls the opportunity to explore race, belonging, and healing through the power of storytelling, creativity, and their own lived experiences.
This year, the Anthem Awards received more than 2,500 entries from 43 countries.
“At Her Voice Media, we've always believed that girls' stories deserve to be heard, valued, and celebrated,” they shared this week on Facebook. “This recognition is a beautiful reminder of what happens when we give young women the space, tools, and confidence to tell their own stories.
“To our girls, our team, our partners, and every person who has believed in our mission—this GOLD belongs to all of us! Thank you for helping us turn stories into something bigger than ourselves,” the post says.
The Anthem Awards special projects category honors individual or one-of-a-kind content projects created to drive awareness and action around a cause or area that do not fit neatly into another Content & Media category.
Olivia Allen, the “Race, Reimagined” project manager, told WVIK News Wednesday:
“It’s such an honor to have our work at Her Voice Media receive global recognition from the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences. To me, it’s a reflection of our organization’s commitment to fostering belonging, inclusion, and healing in diverse communities like the QC — but more importantly, it shines a spotlight on the voices, perspectives, and hard work our youth fellowship participants put into this program each year. I’m so excited to build off this momentum moving forward!”
Through a Healing Illinois grant, Her Voice Media created “Race, Reimagined: Girls Healing Illinois,” a youth-led media project exploring race, identity, culture, history and belonging. HVM fellows reported, interviewed, photographed and produced stories that became a special edition of Love Girls magazine, a three-part podcast, social videos and a racial healing workshop—using media not just to talk about inclusion, but to give girls the tools and platform to shape the story themselves.
The Her Voice goal “was to make racial healing personal, creative and youth-led. We wanted girls—especially girls of color—to see their lives, histories and identities reflected in media, learn to tell those stories themselves, and spark conversations that build empathy, belonging and connection,” their entry said.
“Race, Reimagined” reached girls in print, in person and online: 1,000 magazines were distributed to girls in grades 5–12 across the Midwest, 80 girls attended their workshop, podcast episodes reached thousands of listeners and social content generated 10,000+ likes, 150+ comments and 400 shares.
The Anthem Awards is the Webby Awards’ benchmark for social impact work, recognizing brands, nonprofits, and individuals who are setting the standard for good worldwide.
Since 2021, they have received more than 10,000 entries from over 40 countries. Past winners include leaders like Planned Parenthood, Rare Beauty, ACLU, and World Central Kitchen, alongside Special Achievement honorees Gloria Steinem, Matt Damon, Billy Porter, and Megan Rapinoe.
As the premier award honoring positive impact, Anthem honors work across Belonging & Inclusion; Education, Art & Culture; Health; Human & Civil Rights; Humanitarian Action & Services; Sustainability, Environment & Climate; and Technology.
Her Voice Media was founded by Rock Island native Jasmine Babers-Gunn in 2012, while she was a student at Rock Island High School and started Love Girls magazine. Her Voice has grown across storytelling platforms and creative spaces that center the voices, leadership, and lived experiences of women and girls.
Its mission is to provide safe spaces for women and girls to share their stories, explore opportunities in media, and grow as confident leaders.
Her Voice Media premiered the documentary “If the River Were a Woman” at a special event on Sept. 27, 2026 at The Last Picture House, Davenport, where they also launched the Fall 2026 Love Girls magazine edition, which focuses on environmental issues.
You can watch the film HERE. You can read the “Race, Reimagined” issue HERE and learn more about the Anthem Awards HERE.
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