Moms go the extra mile at walk

Walk a mile in their mothers’ shoes -- that’s what Emma McGovern and Marlené Kramer set out to do when they donned cardboard posters of high-heels Saturday morning.

The 10-year-old Long Beach residents marched up and down the boardwalk, one after the other, imitating their mothers’ feet, as part of the Western Nassau Mothers’ Center’s Mile for Mothers Walk.

The Mile for Mothers Walk is an international event that takes place in several countries throughout the month of May. It originated in Slovakia four years ago and is designed to raise awareness for the National Association of Mothers’ Centers, an advocacy and support group for moms.

“I do enjoy the creative portion we added to it here in Long Beach,” Ellen Kramer, Marlené’s mother and the walk’s director, said of the girls. “It's [Long Beach] a great place to have an event like this.”

Last year more than 300 people came together for Long Beach’s inaugural walk, and about the same number turned out this year, according to Kramer.

"I am here to support mothers everywhere,” said Marcy Villabicencio of Plainview, who walked for the first time this year. “Mothers just need people around them, supporting them, because the job is so big.”

Find more information about the National Association of Mothers’ Centers here.

Check back later for a video feature.

Above: Emma McGovern, left, and Marlené Kramer put their best foot forward during Saturday morning’s Mile for Mothers Walk.