‘An awesome gift’

Gross family donates bikes to area youth

By KATINA TENGESDAL, Staff Writer, ktengesdal@minotdailynews.com
The Gross family, in partnership with other community agencies, gave away 180 bikes to area youth Saturday, marking the fifth year the family has kept the event going in the Minot community.


The event is held each year to honor DaySun Gross, who was killed in a car crash on the Burdick Expressway side of Roosevelt Park in 2002. DaySun was just 17 at the time of his death, but those who were close to him still remember him as a kind and caring youth.


“We do this mostly to carry on his spirit, and the love he had for people. It puts a smile on the kids’ faces, and you can’t have anything more fulfilling than that,” Bob Gross, DaySun’s uncle, said.


The bikes were given away to area youth whose names were submitted by area nonprofit agencies, including the YWCA, Companions for Children, the Domestic Violence Crisis Center, the Minot Area Homeless Coalition and some schools.


The crowd, which gathered around a park bench dedicated to the memory of DaySun Gross, heard messages from community members about the significance of the event.


“This family has done this in memory of their son, and nephew. We don’t want anybody here to think this is just a giveaway, and they’ve got a free bike. We want them to know the reason,” said Mac McLeod, executive director of the Minot Area Homeless Coalition.


“Only in America can an event like this happen, and it takes the ingenuity of the city of Minot to pull this together. To think that out of this tragedy can come this beautiful thing is amazing,” said the Rev. Bob Edwards.


“Thank you to the family for turning this tragedy into an awesome gift,” he added.


Jason Vaagen, a family friend, spoke about how the event is a reflection of DaySun’s spirit.


“DaySun wasn’t an individual who went about life just worrying about himself,” Vaagen said.


“This family is showing the community that we can all make a difference,” he said.


Bob Gross added a word of thanks for the businesses and agencies that helped with the giveaway this year, including The Landing for providing the sound system, Homesteaders Restaurant for providing the catering, the singers, and the speakers the Rev. Frank Picard, Sheriff Vern Erck, Edwards, McLeod and Vaagen.