Our History

Over the twenty years or so that Cookie Time has been growing and developing as a business, there has been a commitment to developing a unique culture within the organisation.

The business founders, Michael Mayell and his brother Guy Pope-Mayell wanted to build a successful company; however they also wanted to develop an environment that would help bring out the best in the people who chose to work alongside them.

As a natural consequence of this environment, and the people who were attracted to it, there arose a desire to go beyond the business of making cookies. The desire was to help make a difference to the lives of young New Zealanders.

From these seeds and activities, the Cookie Munchers Charitable Trust was formed, a vision determined, and a number of activities and initiatives started. The first of these being eTime - a unique learning centre driven by leading educators that encourages children and their teachers to explore, create, and learn in a digital environment.

From the personal journey by one of the Trustee's families came the second, an alliance with the Davis Dyslexia Association.

This alliance aimed to awaken an awareness within the community about dyslexia and to offer solutions that help free children from the frustration and confidence-sapping nature of this 'special needs label' within the school community.

The Government refusal to acknowledge dyslexia was determined to be the greatest barrier to helping and supporting dyslexic children and their families and so the Trust formed and funded the Dyslexia Foundation of New Zealand in November of 2006.

Five months later, on 18 March 2007, the DFNZ was successful in having dyslexia officially recognised by the Minister of Education.

Other initiatives are now being explored as the Trust expands its horizons. With the whole Cookie Time team on board, the Trust has a powerful founding sponsor that has been the driving force behind its formation and will be its major supporter into the future.

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