Meet Francesca Hoyle (22 Aug 2008)

Francesca Hoyle, 26, from St Wilfred's parish, Preston, took time out to chat to livesimply.

Francesca, 26, works for a construction company doing business development - and wants to move into the charity sector.

How did you get involved in livesimply?

It was at a CAFOD supporters' day in October last year. It struck me that I'm from a line of teachers, a socially and morally rewarding job, not like the one I'm in at the moment.  So I started volunteering at the local Impact! group.

I came across livesimply again at Oct06, which I was really impressed by.  There's not enough for that age group, and I'm keen to kickstart something over here.

What kind of stuff have you been doing?

I set up a Fairtrade stall during Fairtrade Fortnight instead of our usual tuck shop at work. It took £100 and was really good for changing people's attitudes. It was really good to know that people started buying Fairtrade bananas because of that couple of weeks.

I'm trying to do small things: re-using carrier bags, thinking about things more - for example where my clothes come from and how many I need.

It's changed my outlook. I try to be more content with what I have. I just bought a place with my friend, and got given loads of furniture after my Granny died. We were tempted to get stuff that all matched, but I figured we were lucky to have a roof over our heads, and the rest was all a bit unnecessary. That some people have so little makes me realise how blessed I have been.

Tell us about the Impact! group you're involved with

We had a livesimply retreat evening recently with about 25 fourteen-year-olds.  At that age they don't really want to be quiet, but we had different stages for reflection - getting them to think about what they spent money on, and what they have to give the world.

We had a couple of speakers come at different points too - an ex-missionary who'd been living in Brazil, and a bishop from Zambia.  And we've used the livesimply DVDs about the gangs in El Salvador - that really spoke to the group.

I'd like to be more involved in the Impact! group and start a YCW group in Preston - the See/Judge/Act thing works for me. It's not just in poorer countries around the world that we can do things to help, but in our local communities too, and livesimply really allows that to happen in my mind.

Can you say why livesimply appeals to you?

The Church doesn't just go "no sex, no sex, no sex", it actually has important things to say - about the environment, social justice, and development.  That's got to ring more for young people and it's a message more people should hear.

livesimply reminds us that each one of us has responsibilities to future generations and to each other - that whole "that others may simply live" thing makes a lot of sense to me.

It's made me think much more about how our actions impact other people.  I've tried to change my lifestyle.  I've a long way to go - but I'm not despondent, I'm excited.

Have you got any top tips?

Change things that work for you.  My aunt gave up make-up, but I couldn't do that - I need to look OK for my work! I'm squeezing the cosmetics to the end, though, and not changing the bottle just because I'm a bit bored of it!

Thanks, Francesca, it was ace to talk to you.