J.K. Rowling founded the charity Lumos in 2005 to support children’s rights and help end the institutionalisation of children.
The organisation was originally established as the Children’s High Level Group by Rowling and politician Emma Nicholson. It later adopted the name Lumos, inspired by the light-producing spell in the Harry Potter books.
Lumos works with governments, communities, and organisations to replace orphanages and other large institutions with family-based or community-based care. Its work has focused on children separated from families in countries including the Czech Republic, Moldova, and Ukraine.
Lumos is sometimes confused with a general literacy charity because of Rowling’s connection to books. Its central mission is child protection and family care reform, rather than simply promoting reading.