Real-World Support from the Wizarding World

Mar 05, 2017

Posted by: Kim McChesney

Charity, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Isaacs, J.K. Rowling, Lumos, News, Thompson

Most followers of the Potterverse are aware of J.K. Rowlings’ dedication to bettering the lives of orphans through her charity Lumos, as well as many other individuals and causes she brings attention to, as evidence of her Twitter posts:

 

According to this article from Business Insider in 2012, Rowlings was the first person to lose her billionaire status due to her estimated $160 million in charitable giving that year. Many current and former actors from her Wizarding World follow suit by supporting various social efforts and philanthropic organizations. Recently a few of them made news by using their notoriety to bring attention to several worthy causes.

Jason Issacs, known best to Harry Potter fans as the dark wizard, Lucius Malfoy, is working alongside Parliament member Caroline Ansell, to support the charity Marie Curie’s annual Great Daffodil Appeal.  This campaign is the biggest annual fundraising effort for Marie Curie, an organization that provides care and support for people with terminal illnesses and their families. Mrs. Ansell explained about the initiative,

“Marie Curie does a wonderful job helping people and their families at the end of their lives and this is a worthwhile cause I’m really happy to support because I know the local branch of the charity does so much superb work in Eastbourne and the surrounding area.”

Issacs followed up with,

“I’m delighted to be here with Caroline to help launch Marie Curie’s Great Daffodil Appeal. Please help us make every daffodil count.”

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One of the newest members of the Potterverse is also using her voice to champion an effort close to her heart. Acclaimed British actress Noma Dumezweni, who currently plays the role of the adult Hermione Granger in the West End stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, recently spoke at the second National Refugee Women’s Conference: Building a Better Asylum System in London on March 1. The event was sponsored by the charity Women for Refugee Women, whose mission is to support and empower women who have crossed borders to seek asylum. The group works with the arts, media and public events to tell these women’s stories, as well as advocate for a fairer asylum process through research and communication with politicians. Their recent campaign, #SetHerFree, aims to end detention for female asylum seekers.

Dumezweni, who arrived in the UK as a seven-year-old refugee from apartheid South Africa, has worked with the organization for many years. During her presentation at this year’s conference she said,

“Communication and community is what it’s about, to make people know you are not alone. I’m here to share my story and say you are not alone.”

Dumezweni’s own parents were forced to flee South Africa in 1968 as told in her mother’s autobiography, Escaping Apartheid: A Letter to My Mother.

Image result for images of hermione from harry potter

National Refugee Women's Conference

Emma Thompson has also been in the news recently advocating for child refugees, such as her own son, as covered in this article by Leaky.

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She also was involved recently with a project for Greenpeace. Along with her sister, Sophie Thompson, she filmed a parody of “The Great British Bake-Off” on a farmer’s land that was intended to be used for fracking, the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside.The actresses were making a parody episode, titled “Frack Free Bake Off,” in order to “show the government that we will not allow fracking to scar our countryside and fuel yet more climate change.” The protesters, including Thompson, were sprayed with manure by the angry land owner.

Emma Thompson at the Greenpeace protest

Though we are not condoning trespassing, we do commend all of these actors for using their time and energy to speak out against injustice and help others in need.

“Differences of heart and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open” – Albus Dumbledore

Click here for the full article from the International Business Times on Noma Dumezweni and Women Refugees in the UK.





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.