Members of GRO Mizzou nominated their affiliate group Grass Roots Organizing for the 2012 Social Action Award from the Midwest Sociological Society for their work in the Regency Mobile Home community as well as other issues.

The organization will be presented with the award March 30. The award also includes a $1,000 grant to help continue the efforts, according to a GRO Mizzou news release.

“GRO began with three women meeting at a Pizza Hut in Mexico, Mo., in 2000 in an effort to directly confront the social injustices they were experiencing,” graduate student Andrew Bisto said. “Since then, GRO has maintained a policy of fighting for social justice for all Missourians throughout Mid-Missouri, across the state, and also frequently expands this scope for national issues as well.”

According to its Facebook page, GRO Mizzou was founded in late April 2011 and is a student affiliate group of GRO Missouri. Its mission is to increase democracy and equality on the local, state and national levels.

Additionally, GRO Mizzou sets up petition drives regarding current issues such as raising minimum wage, GRO Mizzou President Curtis Edwards said. Edwards, like Bisto, has worked with GRO Mizzou since the beginning.

Although the organization is relatively new to MU, it is active in multiple efforts to help the community.

“GRO just held its ninth annual Sweetheart luncheon yesterday (Saturday) afternoon in an effort to raise funds to continue fighting for social justice,” Bisto said.

Bisto said GRO has been working on protecting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as well as holding Wall Street and other corporate entities throughout America accountable for their actions and fighting against predatory lending.

“Rather than focusing on one single thing, the MSS award was more of a ‘What have you done this year as an organization?’” Edwards said. “It included our work on Medicare/Medicaid, accountability, and also the Regency Mobile Home community.”

Bisto said this funding will be used for not just one thing in isolation, but a multitude of things. This holds true to its mission of “people before profits” across the state.

“The most rewarding aspect is knowing you’re making a difference while getting to know people’s stories,” Edwards said. “Working with GRO Mizzou puts what I’ve learned in sociology into actions, going out and being with people for what we believe in.”

GRO Mizzou might be small in size, but the impact of participation has a deep effect on both the members and the community, Bisto said.

“Being a part of an organization of people seeking social justice for everyone, holding corporate interests accountable for their actions and continually striving for human need not corporate greed is not just fulfilled through membership alone,” Bisto said. “It involves meeting and speaking with people in your community, as well as taking stands in community forums and city council meetings. It involves the necessity for taking action throughout the community, whether standing on the streets in the middle of winter asking for signatures for a particular issue or walking door to door.”