A lot has been happening with the Layton’s Playground project and we want to share some updates on the progress as well as showcase some amazing local businesses who have stepped forward to make this possible.
Back in May, the school and the Foundation set out to raise the projected $55,000 needed to complete the site preparation work necessary for the playground projects to move forward. While the playground itself, the poured rubber surfaces, and all of the installation work are being donated by Where Angel’s Play, the school was responsible for demolition and pouring concrete pads.
The community gives big during ‘Gallatin Valley Give Big’
Layton’s Playground became the focus of our 2026 ‘Gallatin Valley Give Big’ campaign and the response was inspiring.
Through ‘Give Big’ and some follow up donations, we reached our $27,500 community giving goal and unlocked a matching donation from a private donor achieving the $55,000 we believed necessary to complete the site preparation work. Nearly 90 individuals, families and businesses stepped up to contribute to reaching this goal.
Bids come in too high, and a couple of ‘Angels’ Step forward
After the excitement of reaching such a huge fundraising goal, we received some bad news. The bids we were receiving for the work were coming in over our anticipated budget by quite a bit.
Fortunately, two cornerstone community businesses stepped up and donated nearly all of the materials we needed. With this support, we were able to get the project into budget and moving forward. These project “Angels” came at the perfect time to ensure that we were able to complete our site preparation work done on schedule.
The Monforton School Foundation and the entire Monforton Community offer our gratitude to Kenyon Noble Ready-Mix and Knife River for their generosity. Both of these companies are literally building Bozeman every day – it is inspiring to see them invest in our schools and kids.
Kenyon Noble Ready-Mix graciously donated ALL of our concrete and delivery/pumping for the pads. These are BIG pads, so that’s over 50 yards of concrete!
Next, Knife River reached out and donated all of the sub-grade gravel and material delivery needed for the concrete pad. That’s over 150 tons of gravel mix!
Preparing a Montana welcome for the Where Angel’s Play volunteers
We are only a couple weeks away from when the Where Angel’s Play volunteers arrive and begin construction. Each volunteer travels and stay completely on their own dime. As of this morning, we are expecting 83 volunteers and family members to come to Bozeman and help with the project.
We are planning to show these volunteers our gratitude.
With the help of some gracious local businesses and private donations of funds, we have arranged a schedule of activities to show them some of the best that 4 Corners and Bozeman has to offer.
Some highlights include a welcome dinner at The Farmhouse catered by Orders Up – thank you to The Farmhouse for donating their venue space and their VRBO space to house some of our volunteers. Thank you to Orders Up for donating the entire meal.
Next, we are chartering two buses for these volunteers to see Yellowstone. This was the most requested activity from the group and we are make sure they get to see Yellowstone in style. We are currently looking for a couple of guides, if anyone has a connection or is willing to donate their time. See volunteer options below.
Additionally, we are working with some of our local firefighters to set up a meet-and-greet happy hour at Dry Hills Distillery for our volunteers. Dry Hills is closing their doors for this event and have graciously donated their typical event fee. If anyone is interested in buying our volunteers a drink, you can send funds to project coordinator Andy Rowse’s Venmo account – @RowseRanch
Finally, we are working on creating some welcome baskets for the guests with some goodies to help them explore Bozeman on their own. These baskets will include passes for Museum of the Rockies as well as a soak pass to Bozeman Hot Springs.
Join us at the ribbon cutting event on Saturday, August 8th, 2026
In approximately 3 short weeks we will be cutting the ribbon on Layton’s Playground. We invite everyone to come and celebrate the memory of Layton Smith, the amazing Where Angel’s Play organization and volunteers, and the many people who made this huge project possible.
Layton’s Playground Dedication and Ribbon Cutting
Monforton Elementary School Playground
Saturday, August 8th, 2026
4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Please come and join us in dedicating this space. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony and a BBQ pot-luck. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be provided. If you are able to bring a side/salad/desert to share, please do so.
Volunteer/Contribution Opportunities
There are still opportunities to contribute to this amazing project. We have options for those who wish to contribute time, materials/supplies, or simply funds.
To see the wish list and volunteer opportunities, see our Sign Up Genius link. We are looking for people to buy/donate some bulk supplies from Costco (or similar), we need some ladders for the week, we need some people to restock ice and drinks, we need some people to hand out ice cream, and finally we need some BBQ masters to bring grills and run them at the ribbon cutting event.
See all current options here:
To buy a volunteer a drink, send any donation amount you want via Venmo @RowseRanch
Are you a Yellowstone guide, or know one? We are looking for two guides for Wednesday, August 5th.
Do you have another idea on how you could contribute. Contact project coordinator Andy Rowse at 406-539-2444 or president@monfortonschoolfoundation.org.
Final design renderings
In case you didn’t see the final designs, here they are!
So many slides! 🛝🛝🛝
