Lumos is J.K. Rowling’s charity focused on ending the institutionalization of children.
Rowling founded the organization in 2005 as the Children’s High Level Group. It was renamed Lumos in 2010, taking its name from the light-producing spell in the Harry Potter books. The charity works internationally to help replace institutions such as orphanages with family-based or community-based care.
Lumos argues that children separated from families need safe, stable family environments and appropriate community services. Its work has included advocacy, research, and support for reforms in countries including Moldova, Bulgaria, Haiti, and Colombia. The organization’s focus is child protection rather than literary education alone.
A frequent confusion is between Lumos and Comic Relief, a separate British charity that has supported many causes, including work involving children. Lumos is specifically associated with Rowling and with deinstitutionalization. Its name is also sometimes mistaken for the name of a fictional Hogwarts group, but in this context it identifies a real charitable organization.