Will and Jada Smith, Charles Alston donate computers to West Phila. High

Looming over administrators, teachers, and students in a West Philadelphia High School classroom, Charles "Charlie Mack" Alston - actor-rapper Will Smith's former bodyguard - stood next to 30 new Apple computers on a cart tied with a ribbon Friday, encouraging students to be the best they can be.

Sixty Apple computers were stolen from the high school last month. Alston's foundation - Charlie Mack Cares - and the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation stepped up to fill the void at a cost of $38,093.

"Thought travels at four billion miles a second," the 6-foot-7 Alston said after the ceremony. "We can't afford to go down for two hours, let alone a month. I felt like these kids were being crippled."

Even though he did not have a personal connection with West Philadelphia High, Alston said he felt concern for the school because he and Will Smith are both from Philadelphia.

"I'm being a big brother," he said.

Police recovered 30 of the stolen computers, so with the donation, the school again has 60 computers.

Two 17-year-olds - Jonathan Carter, a senior at West Philadelphia High, and Dadisi Williams, a senior at University City High School - admitted breaking into the school Feb. 21, stealing the laptops and two desktops, and selling them on Craigslist. When he heard about the theft, Alston said, he was dismayed.

West Philadelphia High juniors Hasani Simpkins, 18, and Mohamed Tall, 16, said they appreciated the donation. They said they use the laptops in certain classes.

"It's nice," Tall said. "It makes us feel like they care about us."

The new laptops will also be quicker and less inclined to freeze, Simpkins added.

Simpkins and Hasani said the theft made the school seem vulnerable and thought the laptops would probably be stolen again.

The school has since taken several preventive measures, district officials said. Laptops will be stored in a room protected by a steel door, the keys to which will be held by only select administrators. Even before the theft, each laptop bore an identification plaque and tracking device, which helped police and the district track down the 30 that were recovered.