J.K. Rowling raises GBP1,000,000 for Lumos with spectacular event at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter

UPDATE: We have added exclusive videos from the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London Lumos charity event. Videos courtesy of Digital Media Services.

J.K. Rowling hosted a very exclusive fundraiser today (Saturday, November 9th) at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter to raise funds for her charity Lumos. “Named after a light-giving spell in the Harry Potter books, Lumos works to end the harmful and systematic institutionalisation of children into so called ‘orphanages’ – a practice that affects 8 million children worldwide, 1 million of whom are in Europe – many are placed there as a result of poverty, disability and discrimination.”

The event was attended by celebrities and Harry Potter cast members, including fashion designer Stella McCartney, comedian John Bishop, Hugh Grant, Emma Watson, Evanna Lynch, Alan Rickman, Potter producer David Heyman, and of course J.K. Rowling herself. The event included a private tour of the sets, as well as a charity auction and dinner in the Hogwarts Great Hall.

The funds were raised not only by direct donations but also through incredible auction items that included “a unique personalised ink and pencil drawing by J.K. Rowling of the Sorting Hat; an original sculpture by the artist Anish Kapoor; and a trip to the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Japan in 2014.”

From the official press release:

The evening also raised much-needed funds for specific projects Lumos runs in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova – all with the aim of helping to reunite children with their families or into family-based care, reforming the care system and developing community-based and specialist services for future generations of disadvantaged children.

J.K. Rowling said,

Since setting up the charity eight years ago to help change the lives of so many children living unnecessarily in appalling institutions across the world, Lumos has already helped governments to take nearly 12,000 children out of these institutions. [We] have prevented the deaths of more than 400 extremely vulnerable children with disabilities, who were not receiving the care they needed in institutions. We have helped the EU change its rules on how it uses money to reform health, education and social services – and we are just beginning. There is so much more we need to do to bring an end to the institutionalisation of children.

The incredible support we have received tonight will directly go towards helping achieve all this.

Lumos Chief Executive Officer, Georgette Mulheir, who has extensive experience of working on de-institutionalisation programmes in Central and Eastern Europe, commented,

The continuing practice of institutionalising children is a serious human rights issue, one we are committed to ending. It is the one form of child abuse we can eradicate in our lifetimes.

What is needed is the political will and the recognition that all children – regardless of circumstance – should enjoy the full spectrum of human rights and have every opportunity to fulfill their potential.

We are incredibly grateful to all those who have made this event possible tonight, and through their generosity, we will be able to help more children than ever know the love, security and care of a family.

Earlier this year, MuggleNet sat down exclusively with Vicky Gillings, the Head of Communications for Lumos. Read the interview here.

You can donate to Lumos over on their website.