J.K. Rowling established the charity Lumos to help disadvantaged children and young people.
The organization was founded in 2005 under the name Children’s High Level Group. It later became Lumos, taking its name from the light-producing spell in the Harry Potter stories. The charity works internationally to end the institutionalization of children and promote family- and community-based care.
Lumos argues that children are often placed in institutions because of poverty, disability, discrimination, or lack of family support rather than because institutional care is best for them. Its programs support reforms intended to keep children with families or in suitable community settings.
Lumos is distinct from Rowling’s charitable trust, Volant, which supports projects addressing poverty and social inequality. The charity’s fictional name can also cause confusion with the spell “Lumos,” but the organization is a real advocacy and development group.