Lumos is the charity founded by J.K. Rowling in 2005 to help children and young people. It was originally established as the Children’s High Level Group, following concerns about children living in institutions.
The organization works to end the institutionalization of children and promote family-based or community-based care. Its name, Lumos, comes from the Latin word for light and is also the name of a wand-lighting spell in the Harry Potter books.
The charity changed its name to Lumos in 2010. Its work has included advocacy, research, and support for reforms in countries where children may be separated from families because of poverty, disability, or inadequate social services.
Lumos is separate from Rowling’s Volant Charitable Trust, which supports projects addressing social deprivation and women’s health. The similar connection to Rowling can make the two organizations easy to confuse, but Lumos specifically centers on children in institutional care and family separation.