urbell Plastics, Inc. made a small but important donation to a big project. There was just one challenge: the donation was for clear acrylic sheet during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jonathan Deitchman, then a Life Scout, needed to fulfill the Eagle Scout Service Project requirement to apply for Eagle Rank, the highest achievement in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). “This project signified that I learned to be a leader and worked well with other people, while also doing something to help the community in a fun and interesting way,” Deitchman explained. Interested in STEM, he approached the director of the A.J. Read Science Discovery Center at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oneonta to ask if his Eagle Scout Project could serve the center in some capacity, to which the answer was yes.

It was then Curbell Plastics Syracuse Inside Sales Manager Pat Silkey learned about the project. Due to the high demand of large acrylic sheets used as social distance barriers, transparent material options were limited, but that didn’t stop Silkey from trying his best to meet Deitchman’s specifications. Christy Deitchman, Jonathan’s mother, recalled Silkey’s attention to the durability requirements and the safety of those who would be around the acrylic sheet. “There was a lot of communication back and forth regarding ‘will this size work?’ or ‘how about this thickness?’ to understand what would be solid enough to withstand younger children pushing on it.” Silkey delivered the cut-to-size acrylic display shields in person (masked up, of course). “We were blown away by that,” Jonathan’s father, Dr. Jay Deitchman, added, “it meant a lot to us. He was so happy to help.”
Congratulations to Jonathan Deitchman who, on July 4, 2021, received his official paperwork as a recognized Eagle Scout with the BSA.