A Year in Partnership: Sentio and Smart Works Yorkshire

Looking back on twelve months of backing a charity that’s now reaching further than ever.

“Smart Works gave me back my confidence that has been lost for too long. Everyone here is amazing and so kind. Thank you for everything.”

— Shannon, Smart Works client

A year ago, Sentio Partners, a mid market M&A firm in Leeds, became a partner of Smart Works Leeds, contributing funding to help the charity move into a bigger, better centre — one built to support more women, more often. Twelve months on, that partnership has grown alongside them, and it feels like exactly the right moment to look back on what it’s meant, as the charity marks its next chapter with a new name: Smart Works Yorkshire.

A partnership that showed up all year

Our support started with the move itself — funding that went directly toward fitting out the new centre, the practical groundwork that meant more space for the mock interviews, styling sessions and coaching that make up Smart Works’ day-to-day.

But we didn’t want funding to be the whole story. Around International Women’s Day, a group from our team took on a sponsored abseil, raising money for Smart Works Yorkshire while (nervously) stepping off the edge for a good cause. We ran a clothing drive across our office building, collecting work and interview-appropriate clothing from colleagues to help stock the wardrobe clients choose from. Our team also spent a day at the new centre itself, unpacking boxes and setting up the waiting area ready for clients — and once it was up and running, we kept that same waiting room stocked with biscuits, a small thing, but one we hoped would make a few nervous minutes before an interview feel a little warmer.

Funding, fundraising, clothes, a hands-on moving day, and biscuits to finish it off — different in scale, but each one part of the same idea: partnership means showing up in whatever way is useful, not just writing a cheque.

Partners in the outcomes

That’s the context behind stories like Shannon’s. Referred to Smart Works after losing her job through circumstances entirely out of her control, she was prepared for interview through a bespoke mock session and styled head to toe — coat, bag and accessories included. She walked in feeling, in her own words, “professional and confident.” She got the job, and four months on she’s thriving — she’s even stayed on with Smart Works, now contributing to their client media team and helping the next woman through the door see what’s possible.

Stories like Shannon’s are exactly why the timing of this rebrand feels significant. A bigger centre and a regional name mean Smart Works Yorkshire can now reach women anywhere across the region who need that same support — and we’re proud that our partnership played a part in getting them there.

Looking back, with thanks

As Smart Works Leeds becomes Smart Works Yorkshire, it feels like the right moment to pause and take stock of what this past year has meant — for the charity, for the women it’s supported, and for our own team. From funding the move to fundraising, clothing drives and biscuit runs, it’s been a year of turning up in whatever way we could.

We’re proud of what that’s helped make possible, and grateful to have been part of this chapter of Smart Works Yorkshire’s story.