J.K. Rowling founded Lumos to support children separated from their families and living in institutions.
The organization began in 2005 as the Children’s High Level Group, established with politician Emma Nicholson. It was renamed Lumos in 2010. The charity’s work focuses on replacing institutional care with family- and community-based support for children.
Its name refers to the light-producing spell in the Harry Potter books, but Lumos operates as a real-world children’s charity rather than a fictional organization. Its campaigns have addressed the effects of institutionalization and promoted family-based alternatives.
Lumos is not the same as UNICEF, Save the Children, or Comic Relief. Those are separate organizations with broader or different missions. Rowling’s involvement with children’s welfare also includes support for other charitable causes, but Lumos is the organization she founded.