J.K. Rowling Urges Support for Lumos in Christmas Message

In a Christmas message posted on the website of her charity, Lumos, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling requests that others think of the estimated eight million children who are institutionalized worldwide this holiday season. Thanking Lumos’s supporters for their efforts this year, Rowling writes,

As we plan to celebrate this festive season with our families, please spare a thought for the estimated 8 million children who are in institutions worldwide. For many, Christmas is just another day in a cold, destitute place, where they are scared and alone, often hungry. For all it is another day without the love of a family or any affection at all.

Lumos is working to change the lives of these children every single day. Your extraordinary support of our We Are Lumos Worldwide campaign this year – whether you donated your time or money, raised awareness or attended one of our amazing fundraising events – made it possible for more children to be home with families for their very first real Christmas. You have helped us come closer to reaching our goal of ending the institutionalization of children by 2050, and for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Please continue to support Lumos and help us to spread the word. Together we can give these children what every child needs and deserves – the love of a family.

Most recently, Rowling spoke with Eddie Redmayne at an advance screening of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, which benefited Lumos. There, she discussed Lumos’s efforts to end the institutionalization of children. You can watch the conversation in its entirety here:

If you would like to donate to Lumos this holiday season, you can do so here.