With homemade thank-you cards in hand, Tonya Middleton’s class at Southmayd Elementary School eagerly awaited a visit from a surprise special guest.

When Houston Astros all-star third baseman Alex Bregman burst through the school’s library doors on Monday with a smile on his face and gifts in his hands, a collective gasp could be heard from the group of students, all of whom are on the autism spectrum.

“It is a blast and an honor to be here,” he said while juggling a box of iPads for the students. ““Hopefully, these iPads help the students because it is a fun way to learn.”

Bregman stopped by the southeast Houston campus to donate 10 new iPads and cases to the class courtesy of his Bregman Cares Charity, which promotes autism awareness through the charity’s partnership with BlueSprig Autism.

Along with the iPads, Bregman gave each student a gift card for the purchase of the Proloquo2go communications app, which is designed to promote the growth of communications skills and foster language development for non-verbal individuals.

“The program is designed to help our students with their speech since they do have autism, so it is going to be really helpful for them,” Middleton said. “We are so grateful for the opportunity to help our students learn and communicate better.”

Bregman took a few minutes to autograph Astros gear, chatted with students and staff, and discussed the reasoning behind his iPad donation.

“When he was younger, iPads helped my godson learn and grow his speech,” he said. “So, because of this, we decided to start giving away iPads to try and help as many students as possible.”

For more information about the Bregman Cares Charity, visit BregmanCares.org