CMS was established in 1991 by the three local authorities then serving south and east Auckland; the former Manukau City Council, Papakura District Council and Franklin District Council. Led by then Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis, its creation was a local response to community need to increase participation in sport and recreation in an area of Auckland rich in cultural diversity and community pride yet struggling with significant social, health, education and economic challenges.
CMS has proven successful operating as a charity and sports trust over the past 26 years and is deeply embedded and valued within the Counties Manukau community, adapting to local and central government structural and strategic changes while maintaining a clear focus on local communities and local needs.
CMS works alongside a variety of sport and physical activity groups across south and east Auckland supporting regional organisations, clubs, community groups, schools, early childhood centres, groups involved in health, Marae, Maori groups, groups for people with a disability, Local Boards and the local business community.
CMS is proud of its record of service to the people of Counties Manukau and has achieved an enviable reputation for community sport and recreation support and success in an area of Auckland facing on-going and complex challenges.
CMS works with its many culturally and ethnically diverse communities in a wider range of programmes, well beyond its mission of inspiring lives through sport by growing participation and social and economic development.
These include programmes and initiatives supported and funded by the Department of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, the Ministry for Social Development and Auckland Council and Local Boards, along with philanthropic and funding agencies such as NZCT, Foundation North, Lion Foundation and programmes such as Find Your Field of Dreams and Primary Sport.
CMS serves a community of 550,000 people encompassing six Auckland Council Local Boards, one Waikato District Council Local Board, four Auckland Council Wards, seven general electorates and two Maori electorates, and several List Member constituencies, covering one third of the Auckland population.
CMS places an emphasis on nurturing the healthy collaborative partnerships built up over decades with other Regional Sports Trusts in the region, its many funders and stakeholders, government departments and agencies, and the thousands of people it works with, and on enhancing these relationships and its reputation for excellence and even-handedness.
CMS also has a much cherished and long-established role for strident and effective advocacy on behalf of its communities, working to secure fairer and more equitable resources for our people so often overlooked.