Her church and school are collecting gift cards to send with her to Alabama so her relatives can start to rebuild.

Sonya James is the principal at Mason Elementary School in Grand Blanc. The tornado that hit Beauregard, Alabama, took the lives of several of her family members down south, including three first-cousins.

James moved up to Detroit with her family years ago, but she was born in Opelika, Alabama and still calls it "home." She lost seven family members total to the devastating tornado; the rest of her relatives are in shelters and have lost everything.

She will be returning to AL this weekend for the funerals; her church, Word of Life Christian Church on Atherton Road in Flint, and Mason Elementary are collecting Walmart gift cards that she can bring to her family.

A GoFundMe has been set up as well, if you'd help online.

Heartbreaking. We're all thinking about you, Mrs. James.

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