J.K. Rowling established Lumos to support children in institutional care.
Lumos is an international children’s charity founded by Rowling in 2005. It works to end the institutionalisation of children and to promote family- and community-based care. The organisation argues that children generally develop better when they grow up in safe families or appropriate community settings rather than in large residential institutions.
The charity was originally called the Children’s High Level Group. Rowling became involved after reading about children living in institutions in Eastern Europe, and the organisation later adopted the name Lumos. The name refers to the light-producing spell in the Harry Potter stories, but the charity’s work is focused on child protection and social-care reform.
Lumos should not be confused with Rowling’s charitable trust, Volant Charitable Trust, which supports projects including medical research and social causes. Lumos is the organisation specifically associated with ending the institutionalisation of children.