Excerpts from the Check It! press release on their Facebook event page:

Gay gang goes from Gallery Place to Peace on the runway of entrepreneurship during Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend

This information is regarding “Check It.” We hope to get support from the community for these youth who are taking great strides in the right direction. As you know, the group that many held responsible for the wave of violence and theft at the stores in the Gallery Place metro, have made the decision to turn over a new leaf.

Due to the response to the article in the Washington Post September 27, 2011, several community organizations, as well as the media, and DCMPD have responded and have “adopted” these young people. Currently, the former gang members are getting trained as entrepreneurs and branding their own fashion/clothing line which will be launched in the event. This will be a long process but leaders of “Check It” have taken giant steps through the positive reinforcement of the community and agencies such as MPD who have allowed these youth to use their gym to practice for this great event.

This experience will show what happens when community and business’s wrap it’s arms around disadvantaged youth, in this case the majority are LGBTQ youth. There is a proverb that states “hurt people hurt people.” This event will show their pain and the pain that they have endured, as well as the pain they have caused others. It will also show them on the road of recovery and redemption. We must hold them accountable but we must also create roads and avenues to success.

This group originated in Ward 5’s Trinidad neighborhood and now exist in Wards 1,2,4,5,6,7,8 and various parts of P.G. County Maryland. They need our support, so we hope all make a small sacrifice to support them by attending the New Beginning as they tell their story.

On Tuesday, January 10, 2012 there will be a Press Conference/VIP Fundraiser Reception. This event will allow them to tell their story and raise money for supplies for their clothing line. Tickets are $40 and will also allow access into “Check It’s” Fashion Show and Clothing Line Launch on Saturday January 14, 2012. (The media is allowed free admission into both events)

Fashion Extravaganza
Date: Saturday January 14, 2012
Time: 4:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Location: ROC-North Community Auditorium, 801 Shepherd St. NW, 20111
Advance Admission: Youth 17 and under, $10; Adults, $15 (call 202.499.9332 or purchase advance tickets online)
Day-Of Admission: $20