J.K. Rowling’s charity supporting children’s rights is Lumos.
Rowling founded the organization in 2005 with the original name Children’s High Level Group. It was created to improve the lives of children who were separated from families and placed in institutions. The charity was renamed Lumos in 2010.
Lumos works to replace institutional care with family-based and community-based support. Its work has focused on children in countries including the Czech Republic, Moldova, Bulgaria and Haiti. The organization promotes reforms intended to keep children with families whenever that is safe and possible.
The name Lumos comes from a Latin word associated with light and also recalls the light-producing spell in the Harry Potter world. Lumos is not a general literacy charity and is distinct from BookTrust, which promotes reading. Its central concern is children’s rights and the harmful effects of institutionalization.