J.K. Rowling established Lumos to help disadvantaged children.
The organisation was founded in 2005 as the Children’s High Level Group, following an article Rowling read about children living in institutions in Eastern Europe. It was later renamed Lumos, after the light-producing spell in the Harry Potter books. The charity works internationally to end the institutionalisation of children and promote family-based care.
Lumos argues that children separated from families often do better when they receive support in family or community settings rather than growing up in large residential institutions. Its work includes research, advocacy, and assistance to governments and local partners seeking to reform child-protection systems.
The organisation’s name connects its real-world mission with Rowling’s fiction: “Lumos” is a wand-lighting spell used by Harry and other characters. The charity’s focus is broader than helping children in orphanages; it addresses systems that place children in institutional care and supports alternatives designed around family life.