JK Rowling to match funding for emergency Ukrainian children appeal up to £1m

JK Rowling will personally match donations up to £1m in support of children in Ukraine after her Lumos Foundation launched an emergency appeal.

The Harry Potter author hailed the organisation’s “crucial work” raising money to provide food, hygiene and medical kits to some of the most vulnerable affected by the war in the country.

The charity will work to reunite children with their families and “advocate for children and ensure they aren’t forgotten in this time of crisis”, it said.

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Rowling, 56, wrote on Twitter: “I will personally match donations to this appeal, up to £1m.

“Thank you so, so much to all who’ve already donated, you’re enabling @lumos to do crucial work for some of the most vulnerable children in Ukraine.”

Lumos, which was founded by Rowling in 2005, has for several years been co-operating with the Ukrainian government to better protect vulnerable children and reform its care system.

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I will personally match donations to this appeal, up to £1m. Thank you so, so much to all who’ve already donated, you’re enabling @lumos to do crucial work for some of the most vulnerable children in Ukraine. https://t.co/XK8yTtB1nl

The charity has been working in the Zhytomyr region in northwest Ukraine, and estimates that prior to the Russian invasion there were more than 1,500 children trapped in orphanages in the region, and around 100,000 children living in institutions in the country.

The charity says children in the country “face an uncertain future” and are at risk of displacement and family separation.

Rowling is far from the only celebrity to speak out or support charity efforts to help the Ukrainian people.

Movie star Mila Kunis, who was born in Ukraine, has set up a fund to support Ukrainian refugees with her husband Ashton Kutcher, and has said they will match donations of up to $3m (£2.25m).

Movie studios Warner Brothers, The Walt Disney Company and Sony Pictures have said they will not release their latest films in Russian cinemas, in response to the conflict in Ukraine.

The Harry Potter film series was distributed by Warner Brothers.

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