At the main lobby at Massapequa High School, the energy was already palpable. Signs reading “Vote for Jesse” were everywhere—a show of support for Massapequa graduate Jesse Finling, now a Top 20 contestant on American Idol, who had performed on that very stage just hours earlier.
But by the end of the evening, it was clear that another rising figure had left an equally powerful impression—this time, not through music, but through a message With Purpose. The auditorium was filled beyond capacity — standing room only — as parents and student-athletes gathered for a mandatory meeting, unknowing of a keynote they were about to hear from Michael Fay, founder of the With Purpose Foundation. And while Finling is making waves in the music world, Fay is emerging as a rising force of a different kind—one rooted in service, resilience, and impact.
Fay’s story is as compelling as it is inspiring. After being diagnosed with both leukemia and lymphoma, he made a decision that would ultimately shape the foundation he created.
“If cancer was going to change me,” Fay told the audience, “It was going to change me, and others for the good.”
That mindset became the driving force behind the With Purpose Foundation, a movement centered on a simple but powerful idea: do something good for someone else, and when they ask why, tell them to pay it forward.
Earlier that same day, Fay had already spent hours inside the school, presenting to students across six different periods as part of Awareness Week. His message focused on kindness, intention, and the ripple effect of small actions. He also invited his friend Jay Asparro to join him on stage—an advocate in his own right, who through the Ann Asparro Project has spent more than a decade raising awareness for caregivers and battling Alzheimer’s and dementia through extraordinary endurance efforts.
Together, their presence reinforced a shared message: that purpose is often found in service to others.
Fay’s keynote later that evening—at the invitation of Massapequa Athletic Director Matt McLees—was directed toward student-athletes and their families that blended sportsmanship and character as one. McClees shared it was the first time in his 3 decades of work, you could hear a pin drop – now that’s impact. His hope was clear: that teams competing this spring would embrace the foundation’s mission and act, whether through team fundraisers or simple acts that create real impact.
What stood out most, however, wasn’t just Fay’s words, it was how closely his actions align with them.
He shared a story from earlier that very day. After leaving the school and still in the lot, a woman approached him asking for $10 or $20 for food. “She appeared that she needed help and was very nice in the way she asked for it.” So instead of just giving her cash, Fay asked her to walk with him to a strip mall adjacent to the school, brought her into a restaurant, spoke with the manager, and told her to order whatever she wanted. He covered the full meal without hesitation.
When I asked how often moments like that happen, he didn’t hesitate to offer another example. Days earlier returning from a business trip, in a San Antonio airport at 7 a.m., Fay noticed six Marines in full fatigues ordering at Starbucks. He stepped out of line, went to the front, and paid for all their meals.
“Mr. Fay presented to us today during school. My friends and I didn’t want to go but it wound up being one of the best assemblies I’ve been to” shared a current student in the school. He gave out Starbucks cards to some of us for participating and I got one. “Instead of using it on myself, I used it after school and bought the lady behind me her drink”. I felt good about it afterwards.
These aren’t isolated moments; they are a way of life. He shared that “selfishly it helps me too as these acts of good help to strengthen my immunity. My immune system is compromised” Fay said. There are studies that support when someone does an act of kindness, your body releases oxytocin that has a direct, positive impact on your immunity. Fay then shared, “in a silly way, oxytocin pays it forward. Because not only does it help me, but those also who witness these acts of good have a positive impact on their immunity through a similar release of their own Oxytocin”.
Fay is, in many ways, a hidden hero living among us—quietly lifting others while continuing his own battle with leukemia and lymphoma.
He also spoke about launching his first scholarship—a $1,500 award for a Massapequa student in grades 9–12. But like everything tied to his foundation, it’s not about traditional recognition.
“This is for the quiet leader,” Fay said. “The one who leads with character—in school, on the field, and in the community.”
He hopes to make the scholarship an annual tradition and even envisions a future where recipients are recognized in a permanent showcase within the school—alongside notable alumni like Jerry Seinfeld, Alec Baldwin, and Brian Kilmeade.
“Because good character,” Fay added, “is what builds community.”
When asked what the future holds, Fay didn’t speak about scale in the traditional sense.
“I hope this foundation has national recognition and beyond,” he said. “But at its core, it will always be simple—do something good for someone else and ask nothing in return except that they pay it forward.”
After spending the evening in that auditorium, it’s hard not to believe that vision is well within reach.
And if the standing-room-only crowd was any indication, the message is already resonating. Fay’s motivation in doing what he does was an easy answer. “To ensure I’m here for my wife Tara and three children for as long as I can be” and who he credits helping him with these presentations and is “really the hero behind the scenes, she’s, my rock.”
To learn more about the With Purpose Foundation, support its mission, or get involved, visit linktr.ee/Withpurposefoundation
