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:

The work day plan was to build a common area for the Explore Austin kids to hold their meetings and make other recreational improvements. As a group, RECA volunteers successfully completed the following tasks: laying decomposed granite pathways throughout the project site, creating an amphitheater and sitting area, assembling and painting picnic tables, and creating four gaming stations, all of which provided a home base for Explore Austin to call their own on the KIPP campus where they meet one Saturday per month. Volunteers also assisted in transforming an existing pavilion into a full storage unit, complete with indoor shelving and a metal storage box. The 2011 Leadership Development Council Class created an exercise area on the project site and successfully finished the day with five exercise stations.

Explore Austin is an Austin-based non-profit organization whose mission is to “change the lives of under-served youth through the combination of mentoring and outdoor adventure.” Explore Austin matches adult mentors with 100 students, provides monthly outdoor adventures for mentors and mentees to experience together, and culminates every year with a weeklong wilderness trip in the mountains of Colorado. What makes this program even more unique is that the students (“Explorers”) enter the program in 6th grade and remain in the program through their high school graduation.

Since Explore Austin was founded in 2006, they have worked closely with KIPP to recruit students to the Explore Austin program and to provide them with the most meaningful mentoring experience possible. RECA's Christmas in October project work site will be at the KIPP campus. KIPP was established in 2002 and is modeled after two successful schools (one in South Bronx and the other in Houston). KIPP is an open enrollment, public school founded to meet the needs of under-served children in the East Austin Community. The school's current enrollment is 97 percent Hispanic and 92 percent qualifiers for federal meals funding. The school receives 70 percent of its funding from state and federal public funds and relies on private fundraising for the other 30 percent. 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. The school is growing and expanding with a current 500-700 student waiting list.

2010 - The Pecan Springs Commons, an acquisition and rehabilitation project of Green Doors, was selected as the 2010 Christmas in October project held on Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 5802 Sweeney Circle. More than 80 volunteers turned out on a beautiful Saturday morning to raise awareness for the project and make extensive landscaping improvements on the tenants' residences. Truckloads of trees, plants, flowers, soil, and 11,000 square feet of sod were used on event day to create a pocket park, 16 flower beds, a trellis feature, and a new recreation field.

RECA's 2010 LDC class built the pocket park complete with tables and benches, where barbeque pits will be installed. Other volunteers transformed a huge section of the acreage into a recreation area using sod that was donated. RECA volunteers built raised beds for vegetable gardens, planted fruit-bearing trees and flower beds for 16 units, and built a trellis along the back fence and sheds to store recycling and trash bins.  

Green Doors is revitalizing a Pecan Springs neighborhood block, Pecan Springs Commons, that has historically experienced decades of urban blight. Green Doors has acquired and is rehabilitating eight existing, substandard, multi-family properties (70 units) in this high crime area. The project is targeted to working poor families and individuals whose household income does not exceed 50 percent median family income (MFI) or $26,036/year.

2009 - The Mobile Loaves and Fishes' Habitat on Wheels (HOW) project was selected as the 2009 Christmas in October project held on Saturday, October 24, 2009 at the Royal Palms location at 7901 Ben White Blvd. More than 65 volunteers turned out on a chilly, but beautiful Saturday morning to help make improvements on the HOW tenants' RVs and individual lots. Volunteers cleaned the exterior of the RVs, assembled picnic tables, built vegetable grow boxes, stained wood stairs, and planted shrubs. The 2009 Leadership Development Council (LDC), as well as The Bury Family of Companies, each renovated an RV for the event. Two new HOW residents received the keys to their renovated RV during the event, and the entire RV community enjoyed burgers and hot dogs cooked by RECA volunteers.

Habitat on Wheels (HOW)  is an ongoing effort by Mobile Loaves & Fishes to effectively confront homelessness in Austin. HOW gets people off the street by providing them with recreational vehicle housing and the support they need to improve their circumstance. This solution not only provides participants with housing, but also with a supportive community that is dedicated to helping them effect positive change in their lives.

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.