Mr. Carolla, who passed away on March 17, 2005, was a long-time supporter of Head Start and was instrumental to the successful operation of PIC's Head Start program. In 1994 Mr. Carolla began leasing to PIC 30,000 square feet of space in the former Laurel Highlands High School building, located along Coolspring Road in Uniontown. Not only did Mr. Carolla lease the space, but unlike most landlords, Ray Carolla made major renovations and remodeling efforts to the building. Over the years, the entire building has seen renovation occur at some point. The area in the building that is currently used for education and socialization activities was previously a gymnasium. Mr. Carolla also purchased additional land adjacent to the building to establish a playground area and paved and fenced in an area to accommodate the fleet of 20+ Head Start buses.

Featured speakers at the dedication included Colette Sandzimier, Head Start/Early Head Start Director; Tim Yurcisin, PIC President; Senator Richard Kasunic, 32nd District; and Vincent Vicites, Fayette County Commissioner. Also in attendance were friends and family of Mr. Carolla, including his wife Ann and former business partner, Wayne Long. A Head Start classroom, consisting of three-year-old children, also made a short musical presentation. Refreshments followed the ceremony.

As part of the dedication, a plaque was unveiled that reads, "Head Start of Fayette County is appreciative of all that Ray has done over the years to support our efforts. Therefore, this room is being dedicated in honor of Raymond N. Carolla's commitment to educational enrichment for children and families of Fayette County."

Since 1994 when PIC was named the grantee of the Head Start program in Fayette County, over 1,000 children have been served through one of four models of service delivery. The program has grown substantially since 1994, and PIC now provides comprehensive Head Start services to 579 children ages three to five throughout Fayette County. Daily, 132 children receive services out of the Coolspring Road building and approximately 50 children attend for home based socializations.

In speaking about Mr. Carolla's impact on the Head Start program, John Sproull, PIC's Vice President of Finance noted, "Ray always accommodated the needs of our HS program. No job was too big or too small. This allowed us to develop a first-rate program in Fayette County, one that has been acknowledged at both the state and federal levels."

Through continued implementation of the Head Start program, PIC promotes the educational, physical, cognitive, social, and emotional growth of pre-school-aged children as preparation for future growth and development, tying early literacy development into every domain. PIC also supports parents, both mothers and fathers, in their role as primary caregivers and educators of their children and in meeting family goals and achieving self-sufficiency. The program helps to strengthen community support for families with young children to ensure provision of a comprehensive, integrated array of services, and helps to assure the provision of high quality responsive services to families with pre-schoolers through the development of a highly trained, caring, and adequately compensated program staff.