Lumos is the charity J.K. Rowling established to help disadvantaged children around the world.
Rowling founded the organization in 2005 as the Children’s High Level Group, initially working with politician Emma Nicholson to improve conditions for children in institutional care. It was renamed Lumos in 2010, taking its name from a light-producing spell in the Harry Potter books.
The charity campaigns to end the institutionalization of children and promote family- and community-based care. Its work has included projects and advocacy in countries where children may be separated from families because of poverty, disability, or inadequate social support.
Lumos is not a Harry Potter fan organization, although Rowling’s books provide the inspiration for its name. The charity’s central concern is children’s rights and replacing large institutions with safer, family-based alternatives.