J.K. Rowling founded Lumos to help institutionalized children.
The organization began in 2005 as the Children’s High Level Group, created with politician and author Emma Nicholson. It was later renamed Lumos, taking its name from a light-producing spell in the Harry Potter books. The charity campaigns to end the institutionalization of children and promote family- and community-based care.
Lumos focuses on children separated from families, including those living in orphanages or other residential institutions. Its work includes research, advocacy, and support for systems intended to keep children safely within families or communities whenever possible.
Lumos is not a Harry Potter fan club or a fictional institution. The name is a real-world charitable organization inspired by Rowling’s fiction, and its work addresses child welfare policy internationally.