Neel White of White Construction initiated The Real Estate Council of Austin, Inc.'s Christmas in October modeled after a national program, Christmas in April, to "build a better community one house at a time." Below is a summary of past projects:

2008 - KIPP Austin Collegiate was selected as the 2008 Christmas in October project held on Saturday, October 4, 2008.

More than 130 volunteers donated their time and energy for the event, and the campus was transformed inside and out. RECA volunteers painted the gymnasium walls, stage area, sound panels, and exterior doors. They hung large, new display cases and banners in the school and replaced hardware on the doors. Christmas in October volunteers used an entire dump truck of mulch to implement an extensive landscaping plan that included planting hundreds of shrubs and plants along with 20 trees at various sites on the campus. The centerpiece of the outdoor renovations was the construction of a garden pergola arbor to provide an outdoor eating area next to the school's cafeteria. RECA volunteers then furnished the area with brand new picnic tables. Other outdoor renovations included painting covered areas and pipe bollards; prepping the parking lot for restriping; demolishing a long chain-link fence; and power washing the sidewalks and parking lots.

KIPP Austin College Prep was established in 2002 and is modeled after two successful schools (one in South Bronx and the other in Houston). KIPP Austin is a free, public charter school founded to meet the needs of under-served children in the East Austin Community. The school offers an academically rigorous college preparatory curriculum, and students benefit from extra learning time, engagement in community service, and an outstanding nutrition and music program.

2007 - Sammy's House was selected as the 2007 Christmas in October project held on Saturday, October 13, 2007.

More than 125 volunteers turned out on a beautiful Saturday morning to give a dramatic facelift to Sammy's House, a non-profit organization that offers education and care to children with special needs.

The list of tasks accomplished is long and intensive, but worth mentioning. From as early as 7 in the morning to well past noon, volunteers painted the interior and exterior of the building, sanded, painted, and replaced the exterior stairs, sanded floors, completely landscaped the entire property, replaced carpet and ceilings, built a playground, repainted and re-benched the outdoor deck, installed a new security system, installed gutters and much more!

Sammy’s House is a non-profit organization that provides education and high-quality care to infants and toddlers with special needs. This organization is one of a kind in South Central Texas, serving children in five counties.  Sammy’s House also provides respite care for families during off-hours, and has a therapeutic equipment loaning program for the Austin area. 

Sammy’s House first opened in November of 1999 at Director Isabel Huerta’s house, where staff served four medically-fragile children. The overwhelming response from parents made it apparent that the need for such care in Austin was great. Eventually, demand outgrew the space necessitating a move to a different facility on Red River, which allowed the care of twelve children. Now at 2415 Twin Oaks (Burnet Road and 2222), Sammy's House currently cares for 30 children, but expects that number to grow to 49 by Christmas 2007.

2006 - The South Austin Boys and Girls Club at 303 West Johanna Street was selected as the 2006 Christmas in October project to complete work initiated in 2004. More than 70 volunteers turned out on Saturday, October 21, 2006 to replace the floor and build shelves in a shed; build a table for an outside sink for food tray cleanup; repair picnic tables/benches, fences and broken window panes; replace carpet in the library; repaint the art room and work tables; add a first floor room adjacent to the gym; finish the stage floor in the gym; plant trees in a recreation area and plant bushes in landscaped beds; install a new Boys and Girls Club sign; tune up the AC system; and much, much more!

The Boys and Girls Clubs serve 10,000 children in Austin and serve 35,000 meals per year. The South Club is one of the clubs that serves dinner to the children.

2005 - The 2005 Christmas in October project was held October 29, 2005 at the East Austin Boys & Girls Club at 900 Neal Street . More than 75 RECA members and their families and friends turned out to work the project. The project included, interior and exterior painting; powerwashing; landscaping; constructing a new reception counter; installing new window treatments, a sound system, a reception counter, kitchen appliances, new whiteboards and trophy cases; constructing a new stage in the game room; updating bathrooms; installing new lighting in the gym and a new drinking fountain; and more.

2004 - The 2004 Christmas in October project was held October 23, 2004 at the South Austin Boys & Girls Club at 303 West Johanna Street . Committee Chair Patrick Flynn, Vice-Chair John Cyrier and RECA volunteers executed a project that included refinishing wooden gym floors, repainting the performance stage in gym,providing indoor/outdoor carpet for the stage floor, repairing air conditioning duct work and gas leaks in HVAC units, replacing broken glass in gym windows, screening gym windows to avoid future glass breakage, replacing metal roofing at a canopy above an exterior door, repairing gutters, repairing exterior lighting, repairing fencing, replacing gravel at playscape, cleaning and painting the sports court, installing a french drain at the sidewalk, repairing picnic tables, replacing basketball nets and repairing tennis net, re-paving of the sports court and landscaping the beds at the entry of the facility.

2003 - More than 60 RECA volunteers and guests volunteered their morning on Saturday, October 18, 2003 to clean up and restore the historic Mayfield Park in central Austin. The park is a beautiful facility with a house, five ponds, and peacocks that roam the grounds. RECA volunteers pulled weeds, raked, planted plants donated by The Great Outdoors and Native Texas Nursery, sowed wildflower seeds, and mulched beds and trails. Mayfield Park is located at 3505 w. 35th Street.

2002 - Volunteers rolled up their sleeves on two separate dates to participate in RECA's annual Christmas in October project. Led by Paul Workman (Workman Corporation), Chair, Christmas in October, volunteers at The Children's Advocacy Center cleaned up an overgrown parking lot so it could be used again, raked leaves, landscaped, and built an additional seating area on the front lawn of the facility. At Literacy Austin, volunteers finished painting walls and doorways for the new addition of the center, and did some intense landscaping around the building that included making new beds with stone borders before planting new items. New carpeting and ceiling tiles were also installed in the interior. Both projects resulted in major improvements for two worthy organizations.

2000 - RECA members came out in force to help the Boys and Girls Club - Northeast Austin to remodel their facility to serve area children from low-income families who cannot afford childcare. The Northeast facility is located at 5811 Berkman Drive. The Christmas in October Committee & RECA members transformed a dead lawn on the Club's empty lot at the corner of the street into a fenced recreational area, complete with trees and a basketball court for the 150 children who go there for after-school care.

1999 - Improvement/renovation program for low income, disabled and elderly neighbors in he community - The Christmas in October committee renovated, landscaped and expanded the storage capacity of The Arc of the Capital Area Family Pantry at 1005 E. 10th Street. Prior to renovation, the pantry was not large enough to store the volume of donated food, diapers, toys, clothes and shoes received. Volunteers painted, hauled away debris and landscaped.

The Arc of the Capital Area's (ACA) mission is to improve the quality of life for people of all ages with mental retardation and other disabilities and their families. The ACA provides community education, advocacy, self-advocacy training, support groups to families and professional case management through four programs: community advocacy services, community living assistance and support services, pilot parent and victim & offender services. Keep Austin Beautiful Community Outreach Award Winner.

1998 - Improvement/renovation program for the Boys and Girls Club -South at 211 West Johanna - The Christmas in October committee renovated a 60-year old building by adding central air conditioning and sidewalks, sandblasting and painting the exterior and making other interior improvements. Keep Austin Beautiful Community Service Award Winner.

1997 - Improvement/renovation program for the Boys and Girls Club at Old Anderson High School, located at 900 Neal Street - The Christmas in October committee rebuilt about 5,000 square feet for the Boys and Girls Club to open a new campus for children on the east side of town. AISD donated space for an alternative learning center at the old Anderson High School to serve approximately 150 children per day with after-school programming.

1996 - Relocated a house vacated at Bergstrom to the Dove Springs neighborhood. The house was converted to a community center for the neighborhood, the Dove Springs Community Center. Renovations included painting, replacing siding, repairing the fence, preparing a playscape, cleaning up and other yard work at the Center. Keep Austin Beautiful Beautification Award.

1995 - Renovate a building at 1500 East 12th Street used by The Ministry of Challenge for a man's dormitory. The Ministry of Challenge works to rehabilitate drug and alcohol abusers by offering shelter, guidance and assistance to those in need.

1994 - Renovate Children's Church building at 6510 Berkman Drive for the Rites of Passage program for young African-Americans.

The Rites of Passage is a preventative program teaching responsibility and values. The Program is designed to build and prevent homicides, drugs, teenage pregnancy, overcrowded jails, hopelessness, worthlessness and violence.

1991-1993 - Selected homes to make improvements for low income, disabled and elderly neighbors in the community.