J.K. Rowling founded Lumos to help end the institutionalization of children.
The organization began in 2005 as the Children’s High Level Group, an initiative connected with Rowling and European Parliament member Emma Nicholson. It was renamed Lumos in 2010, taking its name from the light-producing spell in the Harry Potter stories.
Lumos works internationally to replace orphanages and other large institutions with family-based and community-based care. Its focus includes children who are separated from their families because of poverty, disability, conflict, or inadequate social support.
The charity’s work addresses a common misconception: institutionalization is not simply an issue of children having no parents. Many children in institutions have living relatives, and family support can sometimes prevent separation. Lumos therefore promotes systems designed to keep children safely within families whenever possible.