Lumos, formerly known as Children's High Level Group and briefly as The Children's Voice, is an international non-governmental charity (NGO) founded by the author of the ''Harry Potter'' book series,

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...

. Lumos promotes an end to the institutionalisation of children worldwide.

History

In 2004, Rowling read an article in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' about children with disabilities who were placed in cage beds. She and Emma Nicholson co-founded the Children's High Level Group (CHLG) in 2005. CHLG was briefly renamed The Children's Voice, but then changed back to its original name because "The Children's Voice" was trademarked in the US. It became Lumos, after a spell in ''Harry Potter'' (which in the series illuminates the tip of the caster's wand with a bright light), in 2010. Rowling stood down as a trustee in 2013 but continued as the charity's president. Lumos and other organisations have worked to encourage the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

to establish regulations that state that funding to

EU member states The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated population of over 449million as of 2024. The EU is often de ...

must be used for community services, not to build or renovate residential institutions. Even before the regulations were passed, as a result of years of advocacy and awareness-raising, this principle of funding supporting '

deinstitutionalization Deinstitutionalisation (or deinstitutionalization) is the process of replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with less isolated community mental health services for those diagnosed with a mental disorder or developmental disability. In the 195 ...

' (DI) had already helped divert more than €367 million of EU funding away from institutions towards community services.

Governance and people

Georgette Mulheir stepped down as CEO in 2020 after trustees identified "management and cultural challenges" and commissioned independent reviews into governance and culture. Howard Taylor joined as CEO in November 2024, succeeding former CEO, Peter McDermott. Ken Towle is the Chair of the Board of Trustees. Other trustees include: Rosanna Burcheri, Neena Gill CBE, Nick Pasricha, Dr Doreen Mulenga, Neal Gandhi, Elizabeth Lule and Usman Ali. The Lumos Foundation USA Board members are Bella Berns and Dale Cendali.

References

Works cited

External links

* {{official website, https://www.wearelumos.org/ Children's charities based in the United Kingdom Child welfare in the United Kingdom Charities based in England Organizations established in 2005 2005 establishments in England 2005 establishments in the United Kingdom J. K. Rowling