A special fundraiser organised by the Achaean Federation and its member organisations in early February, in order to raise money for the new Greek Centre for Contemporary Culture of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria (GOCMV), managed to collect $7,200.
The cheque with the donation was handed over to the board of the GOCMV at a meeting symbolically held outside the under construction building of the Centre for Contemporary Culture.

Present at the meeting were President of the Achaean Federation George Kavalaris, the President of the Brotherhood of Kalavryta in Melbourne and Victoria and Public Relations Officer of the Achaean Federation Athanasios Salahas, the President of the GOCMV Bill Papastergiadis and the Secretary General of the Community Costas Markos.

“The Community has undertaken an important initiative, which is visible to everyone, this building will be left as a legacy for future generations,” said Mr Kavalaris, who also called upon all other Greek Australian organisations in Melbourne to rally behind the GOCMV.

“We have so many clubs, we are struggling to find members to fill in all those board positions, who is going to manage our properties?” he asked, and went on to state that as a community we do not have enough people to run our organisations.

Mr Athanasios Salahas stressed that if we are to progress as a community, we need to pass on the leadership of our organisations to younger people.
“Most of our organisations and clubs are withering away, even though they have money and properties,” he said, and called the wider Greek Australian community in Melbourne to rally behind the GOCMV, because this organisation seems to be the only one that can survive.
Speaking on behalf of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria, President Bill Papastergiadis acknowledged the donation and expressed his certainty that the Greek community in Melbourne and in Victoria is supportive of the initiatives of his organisation.