J.K. Rowling’s charity that supports children’s rights is Lumos.
Rowling founded the organization in 2005 as the Children’s High Level Group with politician Emma Nicholson. It was later renamed Lumos, after the magical light-producing spell in the Harry Potter books. The charity works internationally to end the institutionalization of children and to promote family-based care and community services.
Lumos focuses on children separated from families because of poverty, disability, social exclusion, or inadequate support. Its work includes research, advocacy, and cooperation with governments and local organizations. The central argument is that large residential institutions can harm children’s development and that safe family or community care is generally preferable.
Lumos is separate from Rowling’s charitable foundation, Volant Charitable Trust. Volant has supported projects involving social deprivation, women, children, and multiple sclerosis, the illness from which Rowling’s mother died. Lumos’s distinctive focus is the transition away from institutional care for children.