J.K. Rowling established the children’s charity Lumos in 2005.
The organization was originally founded as the Children’s High Level Group, following Rowling’s concern about children living in institutions. Its work focuses on replacing institutional care with family-based or community-based support and helping children remain connected to safe, supportive environments.
The charity was renamed Lumos in 2010. The name refers to light and was also inspired by the Harry Potter books, where “Lumos” is a spell that creates light. Lumos operates independently as a charitable organization rather than being a fictional institution from the novels.
A frequent mistake is to confuse the year Lumos was founded with the year it adopted its current name. The organization began in 2005, while the Lumos name came later, in 2010.