J.K. Rowling founded the charity Lumos to support disadvantaged children worldwide.
The organization began in 2005 as the Children’s High Level Group, a charity connected with efforts to improve the lives of children living in institutions. It was renamed Lumos in 2010, taking its name from the light-producing spell in the Harry Potter books.
Lumos campaigns for children to grow up in families rather than in large residential institutions. Its work has included family support, community services, education, and advocacy for changes in child-care systems. The charity’s focus is broader than providing books or school materials; it addresses the conditions that can separate children from family life.
The name can cause confusion because Lumos is also a fictional spell in the Harry Potter universe. In the charity’s name, that literary reference symbolizes bringing children out of harmful or hidden circumstances and toward family-based care.