J.K. Rowling established the children’s charity Lumos in 2005.
The organization was originally called the Children’s High Level Group and was founded with the goal of improving the lives of children separated from their families. It campaigns against institutionalization and supports family-based care, community services, and reforms that help children grow up in safe family environments.
The charity was renamed Lumos in 2010. The name comes from the Latin word for light and also echoes the light-producing spell “Lumos” in the Harry Potter books, although the organization’s work concerns real-world child welfare rather than fiction.
Lumos has worked internationally, including in countries where large residential institutions have housed children who are not necessarily orphans. Its central argument is that poverty, disability, or lack of services should not by itself result in permanent separation from family.