In addition to discovering the pleasure of reading, Potterheads have also learned the importance of love, friendship, tolerance and so many other values in their magical journey through the wizarding world. Now, as grown-ups, the children who waited for their Hogwarts letters during all those years are able to put it all into practice, lightning up the lives of those in need as JK Rowling once did for them.
Created by the American Michaella Katz (from Always J.K. Rowling) and Brazilian Pedro Martins (from Potterish), the fundraiser Spread the Light was warmly embraced by more than 20 Potter fansites and Youtubers and supported by writers, publishers and bookshops from all over the world. The idea is simple: it invites fans to be a Patronus as JK Rowling was to them.
“Although we may come from different places and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one.”
– Albus Dumbledore.
“We’ve built a loyal group of followers throughout our years working with the Harry Potter fandom, so we wanted to transform this influence into something substantial that thanked Rowling and resignified our purpose as fans. We looked for institutions the author approves and departed from that to start spreading our light”, explains the 23-year-old Brazilian Igor Moretto (from Animagos), who works especially with the design part of the project.
It works by seasons. The first, which took place last March in advance of Harry Potter Book Night, raised more than £1,000 for Lumos, the charity created by Rowling herself to transform the lives of eight million children who live in orphanages across the globe.
Raising this money demanded a lot of work by countless people working together, but it was, no doubt, worth it. When we saw that fans were keen to support it, either by just sharing the idea through social media or by donating, our eyes started shining with emotion, as Katz explains:
I don’t think I truly realised the extent to which the Harry Potter fandom had become my home until I began to work on Spread the Light. As I worked day in and day out creating it with dear friends from all around the world, it became clear that that this magical fandom held more than just words and movies. It also made me look at J.K. Rowling in a whole new way. Rowling and her books have given us the magic to help others and find a home together as Potterheads. From our hard working fundraising team to the wonderful people supporting our fundraiser, I can now say, without a doubt, magic exists and I am so honoured to be a part of it!
Now, a few months after the first fundraiser, in celebration of JK Rowling and Harry Potter’s birthdays, plus the launch of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, we are ready to make everything happen again. In July, Spread the Light will start raising funds for the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic at Edinburgh University.
Established with a donation of £10 million by JK Rowling, the Clinic carries the name of her mother, who died aged 45 without knowing her daughter was writing the most successful book series in history. They work to find treatments that will slow the progression of multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases, all progressive and incurable as of yet, with the ultimate aim of repairing damage to patients’ systems.
For those who do not know about multiple sclerosis, the exact cause of that disease is unknown, but something triggers the immune system to attack the brain and the spinal cord, which make up the central nervous system, causing an interruption of communication. The patients are generally young people, especially woman from 20 to 40 years old. They suffer from unpredictable symptoms, such as numbness, tingling, mood changes, memory problems, pain, fatigue, blindness, paralysis and more.
This time, we have received an extra helping hand in our project: the 26-year-old Brazilian Thiego Novais, who owns the first Harry Potter channel ever created on Youtube, Observatório Potter (Potterwatch, in English):
When I created my channel, in 2013, I had in mind to keep the flame of the love that fans always had for Harry Potter and JK Rowling burning. Being able to help Spread the Light is something extremely gratifying for me as a fan of the series and of the woman who still inspires us. Help other people is the minimum we can do to return everything she did for us in the last 19 years.
The cool thing is that fans can double win Spreading the Light. Besides helping turn the world into a better place, when they make their donations through our Just Giving page, they automatically enter into a prize draw. Some of our incredible supporters donate perks for us to encourage fans taking part. This time, we have a number of prizes. Some of the Deathly Hallows Grand Prizes are: the complete Harry Potter Blu-ray collection donated and signed by David Yates, who directed the last four Potter movies and the upcoming Fantastic Beasts; a Harry Potter group photo signed by six cast members: Alan Rickman, Evanna Lynch, Daniel Radcliffe, David Yates, Matthew Lewis; and also signed books by Gayle Forman and Paula Pimenta, plus much more!
And to end this article, I have a message for the woman who made it all possible:
Not a single day goes by that we do not wonder how our lives would have been if it was not for you. Your books united us across the world, and now we are letting their light shine bright. We just wanted to cast an Expecto Patronum to those in need, as you have been doing for us all these years. We hope we do you proud.
Find out more about Spread the Light and how to donate here.