Meet the team: Ray Wegrzyn

In a new blog series, we’ll be sitting down with members of the Parkinson’s Equip team, as well as our supporters, fundraisers, and project leaders to find out more about their experience with our charity.

Who better to kick off with than Ray, our founder and chair?

Prepare to discover more about Ray and his Parkinson’s journey by seeing how he responded to our questionnaire.

What’s your name and position?

My name is Ray Wegrzyn (pronounced Veng-jen).

My current position is seated at my desk. I can do vertical, although it is often stooped, or as I prefer to call it, gently curved. I have the horizontal off to a fine art.

How did you become involved with the charity?

It was my idea. I was diagnosed with Parkinsons in 1995. I managed to keep working for 16 years before having to retire due to the effect of the condition on my performance.

I needed things to keep me busy and most of the Parkinsons charities were heavily focussed on drugs research. Parkinson’s EQUIP works to improve people’s quality of life now.

I invited three friends to consider joining me and was delighted that they all agreed.

Why is Parkinson’s Equip so important to you?

The charity is small but perfectly formed, as evidenced by our registration with the Charity Commission UK.

Its focus is people living with Parkinson’s and helping them to improve their quality of life by involvement in exercise or creative arts such as painting or dancing

I believe that we make a difference.

I am certain that running the charity helps me generally to manage better than I would otherwise.

What do/did you do professionally outside of Parkinson’s Equip?

I qualified as a Probation Officer in 1983 and enjoyed a varied career, including a three year secondment to the Home Office working with Probation areas on the implementation of the National Probation Service Information System and four years as the officer responsible for the work of the Probation Service in Salford, part of Greater Manchester.

In 2002 I was appointed as one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Probation.  It was from this position that in 2011 I eventually took early retirement because the of impact of Parkinson’s on my ability to cope with the requirements of the role.

Whereabouts and with whom do you live?

I live in Glossop, in the Peak District with Dot, my long-suffering wife of 45 years.

Do you have any hobbies? 

I am learning to play tenor saxophone and I have recently started looking into astral photography.

I have written four (of which I have published two) very different books and enjoyed the process as much as the outcome.

What was the last book you read?

 Dead Lions by Mick Herron.

Where’s your favourite place to travel to? 

Home.

Do you have any phobias?

I think a reasonable working definition of a phobia is an irrational or illogical fear. In which case no, I don’t have any.

Describe a perfect weekend day.

 One where I am still breathing at the end of it.

What’s the oldest thing in your fridge?

Ice cubes. Well, technically they are in the freezer.  So half a pickled Polish gherkin. 

What are your personal and professional goals?

Professionally, I would like to see the charity fully established, and in a position to continue running even if the four current trustees were not involved.

Personally, I’d like to be around long enough to see my granddaughter become independent.

Tell us something people might not realise about you.

As a teenager, I played trombone and sang in a choir at the Manchester Free Trade Hall.  

What do you love about Parkinson’s Equip?

That we ensure that money we spend on behalf of those who donate is targeted at individuals with Parkinson’s and their wellbeing. 

Why should people support Parkinson’s Equip?

Because they know that their money isn’t being swept into a multi-million pound budget to try and develop some new drugs which, as important as it may be, doesn’t really give you that sense of helping individuals.

Find out more about our Parkinson’s charity

Anything else you’d like to know about Ray or Parkinson’s Equip in general? Would you like to raise money for us, or do you have a Parkinson’s-related project we may be interested in funding?

Follow us on Facebook or Instagram and drop us a message, or email us on info@parkinsonsequip.org.uk - we’d love to hear from you.